U  N  I  VLR5  ITY 
Of  ILLINOIS 

PRESENTED  BY 

Newton  M.  Harris 
1941 


I 


9 


IN  HIS  STEPS 


For  Those  Beginning  the  Christian  Life 


BY 

J.  R.  MILLER,  D.D. 

Author  of  “Week-Day  Religion,”“Home-Making,” 
“Silent  Times,”  Etc. 


“Wherever  I  have  seen  the  print  of  His  shoe  in  the 
earth  there  have  I  coveted  to  set  my  foot  too.’’ — Mr. 
Standfast. 


PHILADELPHIA 
THE  WESTMINSTER  PRESS 


1917 


Copyright,  1885,  1897,  by  The  Trustees  of 

The  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication  and  Sabbath- 
School  Work 


Published  Sept.,  1885  Re-issued  Oct.,  1897 
Fifty-First  Thousand 


ZZZ 
M  1.15  1 
/f/7 


PREFACE  TO  NEW  EDITION. 


,  object  of  this  little  book  is  to  help 


1  those  who  are  beginning  the  Christian 
life.  It  contains  merely  a  few  suggestions 
and  counsels  by  an  older  brother  who  has 
gone  a  little  farther  on  the  way,  who  has 
experienced  some  of  the  difficulties  and 
dangers  and  learned  a  little  of  the  help 
Christ  is  ready  to  give  to  those  who  will 
accept  it. 

This  book  has  been  prepared  specially  to 
meet  the  desire  of  pastors  and  sessions  who 
wish  to  give  to  those  whom  they  receive  into 
the  Church  a  suitable  manual  of  instruction 
and  help.  Thousands  of  copies  of  the 
former  edition  have  been  given  in  this  way. 
The  book  may  be  found  suitable  also  for 
teachers  to  put  into  the  hands  of  young 
people  in  their  classes  who  wish  to  begin  the 
Christian  life. 

This  new  edition  contains  much  new 
matter,  and  the  whole  book  has  been  care¬ 
fully  revised. 


J.  R.  M. 


Philadelphia. 


3 


CONTENTS 


CHAP.  PAGE 

I. — Uniting  with  the  Church  .  .  7 

II. — Beginning  Well .  14 

III.  — The  Christian  Life:  The  Ideal  20 

IV.  — Living  for  God  :  Consecration  27 

V. — Meeting  Temptation:  Conflict  36 

VI. — Working  for  Christ  :  Service  .  44 

VII. — Helps:  Personal  Prayer  ...  53 

VIII. — Helps:  The  Bible .  64 

IX. — Helps  :  The  Church  and  its  Ser¬ 
vices  .  75 

X. — Some  of  the  Duties .  90 

XI. — Growing  in  One’s  Place  :  Provi¬ 
dence  .  97 

XII. — Preparation  for  Trial  ....  104 


5 


IN  HIS  STEPS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Uniting  with  the  Church. 


rpO  unite  with  the  church  is  to  take  one’s 
place  among  the  followers  of  the  Master. 
It  is  a  public  act.  It  is  a  confession  of  Christ 
before  men.  It  is  not  a  profession  of  superior 
saintliness  ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  distinct 
avowal  of  personal  sinfulness  and  unworthi¬ 
ness.  Those  who  seek  admission  into  the 
church  come  as  sinners,  needing  and  accept¬ 
ing  the  mercy  of  God  and  depending  upon 
the  atonement  of  Christ  for  the  forgiveness 


of  their  sins. 

They  come  confessing  Christ.  They  have 
heard  his  call,  “  Follow  me,”  and  have  re¬ 
sponded.  Uniting  with  the  church  is  taking 
a  place  among  the  friends  of  Christ ;  it  is 
coming  out  from  the  world  to  be  on  Christ’s 
side.  There  are  but  two  parties  among  men. 
“He  that  is  not  with  me  is  against  me,”  said 
Jesus.  The  church  consists  of  those  who 


7 


In  His  Steps. 


are  with  Christ.  This  suggests  one  of  the 
reasons  why  those  who  love  Christ  should 
take  their  place  in  the  church.  By  so  doing 
they  declare  to  all  the  world  where  they 
stand  and  cast  all  the  influence  of  their  life 
and  example  on  Christ’s  side. 

Secret  discipleship  fails  at  this  point. 
However  much  we  may  love  Christ,  how¬ 
ever  intimate  our  fellowship  with  him  may 
be,  however  sincere  our  friendship  for  him, 
he  misses  in  us  the  outspoken  loyalty  of  a 
true  confession  which  proclaims  his  name  in 
its  every  breath.  Secret  discipleship  hides 
its  light  and  fails  to  honor  Christ  before  men. 

Uniting  with  the  church  is  a  declaration 
that  one  has  joined  the  company  of  Christ’s 
disciples.  Disciples  are  learners.  Young 
Christians  have  entered  the  school  of  Christ 
— have  only  entered  it.  They  do  not  profess 
to  have  attained  perfection ;  they  profess 
only  to  have  begun  the  Christian  life. 

Jesus  took  his  first  disciples  into  his  school 
and  for  three  years  taught  and  trained  them. 
He  made  known  to  them  the  great  truths  of 
Christianity  which  he  had  come  to  reveal — 
truths  about  God,  about  his  kingdom  on  the 
earth,  about  duty.  Then  he  taught  them 
how  to  live. 

In  like  manner  the  disciples  of  Christ  who 
enter  his  church  now  become  his  scholars. 
They  may  be  very  ignorant,  but  this  is  no 

8 


.  Uniting  with  the  Church. 

reason  why  they  should  not  be  admitted  to 
the  school  of  the  great  Teacher.  They 
should  not  wait  to  increase  their  knowledge 
before  they  become  his  disciples.  The  very 
purpose  of  a  school  is  to  take  those  who 
are  ignorant  and  teach  them. 

But  one  condition  of  admittance  as  a 
scholar  is,  a  desire  to  learn  and  a  readiness 
to  be  taught.  Of  the  first  Christians,  after 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  it  is  given  as  one  of  the 
marks  of  new  life  in  them,  that  they  con¬ 
tinued  steadfastly  in  the  apostles’  teaching. 
They  were  eager  to  learn  all  they  could  hear 
about  Jesus,  and  therefore  they  lost  no  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  listening  to  the  teaching  of  the 
apostles,  who  had  been  with  Jesus  for  three 
years.  Young  Christians  should  always  be 
eager  to  learn.  This  is  one  of  the  objects 
of  church  membership. 

In  different  ways  is  this  instruction  given. 
A  Christian  home  should  be  a  school  of 
Christ.  The  Christian  mother  is  Christ’s  first 
apostle  to  her  children  who  should  learn 
from  her  lips  the  great  lessons  of  life.  Home 
teachings  come  first  when  the  mind  is  open 
and  the  heart  is  tender  and  sensitive  to 
impressions.  The  Sabbath-school  is  designed 
to  do  an  important  work  in  teaching  the 
young  the  truths  of  Christianity.  The  pastor 
is  a  teacher.  He  has  been  trained  to  be  an 
instructor  of  others  in  knowledge  of  God 


9 


In  His  Steps. 


and  in  the  way  of  life.  He  expounds  the 
vital  truths  of  the  Scriptures  and  also  inter¬ 
prets  them  for  daily  life.  The  private  read¬ 
ing  of  the  Bible  is  another  way  of  learning 
the  things  we  need  to  know  to  make  us  wise 
unto  salvation. 

But  knowledge  is  not  all.  Even  Bible 
knowledge  is  not  all,  does  not  alone  make 
one  a  good  Christian.  One  might  know  all  the 
great  facts  and  doctrines  of  the  word  of  God, 
might  be  a  profound  Bible  scholar  and  a 
wise  theologian,  and  yet  not  be  an  advanced 
or  even  a  growing  Christian.  We  are  to 
learn  to  live  Christ  as  well  as  to  know  the 
truths  about  Christ.  Jesus  in  his  teachings 
makes  a  great  deal  of  obedience.  We  are  his 
friends  if  we  do  whatsoever  he  commands 
us.  We  are  to  learn  to  be  patient,  meek, 
gentle,  long-suffering,  compassionate.  We 
are  to  learn  to  be  humble,  kindly-affectioned, 
unselfish,  truthful,  sincere. 

Young  Christians  enter  Christ’s  school  to 
be  trained  in  all  the  qualities  which  make  up 
the  true  Christian  life.  Jesus  is  not  only  the 
teacher, — his  life  is  the  text-book  which  we 
are  to  study.  Part  of  his  mission  to  this 
world  was  to  show  us  in  himself  what  a  true 
and  complete  human  life  is.  He  was  sinless, 
and  he  realized  the  full  beauty  of  obedience 
to  the  divine  will.  We  are  to  look  to  his  life 
to  learn  just  how  to  live,  the  kind  of  charac- 

io 


Uniting  with  the  Church. 

ter  we  are  to  seek  to  have,  the  meaning  of 
the  lessons  which  his  words  set  for  us.  We 
are  in  the  school  of  Christ  to  be  trained  in 
all  Christian  life  and  duty. 

The  lessons  the  Bible  sets  for  us  we  are  to 
learn  to  live  out  in  common  life.  Every 
word  of  Christ  sets  a  copy  for  us,  as  it  were, 
and  we  are  to  learn  to  write  it  in  fair  and 
beautiful  lines.  For  example,  it  is  not 
enough  to  learn  from  the  Beatitudes  that 
certain  qualities  are  praised  by  the  great 
Teacher ;  we  are  to  get  the  Beatitudes  into 
our  own  life  as  quickly  and  as  perfectly  as 
we  can.  So  of  all  the  teachings  of  Christ — 
they  are  not  for  knowing  merely,  as  one 
learns  the  fine  sayings  of  favorite  literary 
writers ;  they  are  for  living.  They  are  to 
become  lamps  to  our  feet  and  lights  to  our 
path,  and  they  are  to  be  wrought  into  the 
web  of  our  character.  The  object  of  the 
church  in  this  training  of  disciples  is  well 
expressed  in  the  words  of  St.  Paul, — “  for  the 
perfecting  of  the  saints,  unto  the  work  of 
ministering,  unto  the  building  up  of  the  body 
of  Christ :  till  we  all  attain  unto  the  unity  of 
the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son 
of  God,  unto  a  fullgrown  man,  unto  the 
measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fullness  of 
Christ.” 

This  thought  of  the  church  as  the  school 
of  Christ  and  of  young  Christians  as  enter- 


ii 


In  His  Steps. 


ing  the  school,  is  very  suggestive.  We  are 
not  to  expect  perfection,  but  we  have  a  right 
to  expect  an  increasing  knowledge  of  spiritual 
things  and  also  spiritual  growth  in  all  the 
qualities  which  belong  to  Christian  character. 
We  should  become  more  patient,  more  lov¬ 
ing,  more  unselfish,  more  helpful,  more  faith¬ 
ful  in  all  duty,  more  like  Christ. 

Uniting  with  the  church  brings  its  duties. 
It  allies  us  with  Christ  and  makes  us  co¬ 
workers  with  him.  We  are  not  to  think 
merely  of  what  the  church  may  do  for  us, 
but  also  of  what  we  may  do  for  the  church. 
Church  loyalty  is  a  mark  of  true  and  whole¬ 
some  Christian  life.  One  need  not  be  a 
narrow  sectarian  to  be  a  good  church  mem¬ 
ber  ;  but  one  will  always  be  the  better  Chris¬ 
tian  for  being  entirely  devoted  to  his  own 
church  and  enthusiastic  in  all  its  life  and 
work.  Anything  that  weakens  a  man’s 
loyalty  to  his  own  particular  church  hurts 
his  spiritual  life  and  lessens  his  usefulness 
as  a  Christian. 

In  many  ways  church  members  may  serve 
their  church.  They  should  be  interested  in 
all  its  work  of  saving  souls  and  promoting 
the  cause  of  Christ.  They  should  regularly 
attend  its  services.  They  should  contribute 
for  its  support.  They  should  study  its  inter¬ 
ests  and  seek  in  every  way  to  extend  its  in¬ 
fluence.  They  should  keep  the  church  in 


Uniting  with  the  Church. 

their  prayers,  daily  making  supplication  for 
it.  They  should  bring  to  it  always  the  best 
they  have  to  bring,  not  of  gifts  and  service 
only,  but  also  of  love  and  personal  help¬ 
fulness. 

It  is  a  high  privilege  to  be  a  church  mem¬ 
ber,  and  one  who  has  such  honor  should 
seek  to  be  worthy  of  it,  as  the  church  is  the 
body  of  Christ  in  this  world. 


*3 


CHAPTER  II. 


Beginning  Well. 

^  GOOD  beginning  is  half.  Many  people 
spend  the  latter  part  of  their  years  in  cor¬ 
recting  the  errors  of  the  earlier  part,  and  by 
the  time  they  are  ready  to  live  the  end  has 
come.  A  good  beginning  at  once  turns  all 
the  energies  into  the  right  channels.  No 
golden  years  need  then  be  wasted  in  unlearn¬ 
ing  false  lessons,  in  revising  unwise  or  im¬ 
practicable  plans  or  in  retracing  one’s  steps. 

Many  a  career  of  brilliant  possibilities  is 
marred  by  a  wrong  beginning.  There  are 
mistakes  of  early  life  which  men  never  get 
over.  A  bad  foundation  has  caused  the 
wreck  of  many  a  noble  building.  Inade¬ 
quate  preparation  for  a  business  or  a  calling 
leads,  at  the  best,  to  impaired  success,  and 
most  frequently  results,  in  the  end,  in  utter 
failure. 

These  principles  apply  in  Christian  life. 
It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  we  start 
well.  Many  Christians  walk  in  doubt  and 
shadow  all  their  days,  never  entering  into 
rich  joy  and  peace,  because  at  the  beginning 


Beginning  Well. 


they  failed  to  realize  the  blessedness  of  the 
privileges  to  which,  as  children  of  God,  they 
are  entitled.  Many  others  never  attain  any¬ 
thing  noble  and  beautiful  in  Christian  life 
and  character  because  at  the  beginning  they 
did  not  wholly  disentangle  themselves  from 
their  old  life  and  fully  consecrate  themselves 
to  Christ. 

A  good  beginning,  therefore,  involves  two 
things — clearness  and  definiteness  of  aim, 
with  intelligent  views  of  the  nature  and 
meaning  of  the  Christian  life ;  and  com¬ 
pleteness  of  consecration. 

Many  men  fail  in  life  because  they  have 
no  settled  purpose,  no  well-defined  plan. 
They  have  no  goal  set  before  them  which 
with  all  their  energies  they  strive  to  reach. 
There  is  in  their  mind  no  clear  and  distinct 
idea  toward  which  they  struggle.  They 
merely  drift  on  the  current,  and  are  borne 
by  it  whithersoever  it  flows.  They  are  not 
masters  in  life,  but  poor  slaves.  They  con¬ 
quer  nothing,  but  are  the  mere  creatures  of 
circumstance.  Such  lives,  however,  are 
unworthy  of  intelligent  beings  endowed  with 
immortal  powers,  and  they  never  reach  any 
high  degree  of  nobleness  or  success. 

No  sculptor  touches  the  marble  until  he 
has  in  his  mind  a  definite  conception  of  his 
work  as  it  will  appear  when  it  has  been 
finished.  He  sees  a  vision  before  him  of  a 


15 


In  His  Steps. 

very  lovely  form,  and  then  sets  to  work  to 
fashion  the  vision  in  the  stone.  No  builder 
begins  to  erect  a  house  until  a  complete  plan 
embracing  every  detail  has  been  adopted. 
Before  he  strikes  a  stroke  he  knows  precisely 
what  the  finished  structure  will  be.  No  one 
would  cut  into  a  web  of  rich  and  costly  cloth 
until  he  had  before  him  the  pattern  of  the 
garment  he  would  make.  In  all  work  on 
material  things  men  have  definite  aims  before 
they  begin  their  work,  and  know  precisely 
what  they  intend  to  produce. 

But  in  life  itself  and  in  living,  in  charac¬ 
ter-building,  in  destiny-shaping,  many  fail 
to  exercise  such  wisdom.  Multitudes  never 
give  one  earnest  thought  to  such  questions 
as  these:  “What  is  my  life?  For  what  pur¬ 
pose  is  it  intrusted  to  me  ?  What  ought  I 
to  do  with  it  ?  What  should  be  the  great  aim 
of  my  existence  ?  What  should  I  strive  to 
be  and  to  do?”  Thousands  live  aimlessly, 
having  no  true  sense  of  the  responsibility  of 
living,  never  forming  an  earnest,  resolute 
purpose  to  rise  to  any  noble  height  or  to 
achieve  any  worthy  thing.  An  immortal  life 
should  have  its  aim  ever  shining  before  it 
bright  and  clear  as  a  star  in  the  heavens. 
To  grow  up  as  a  plant— without  thought  or 
purpose— is  well  enough  for  a  plant,  and  God 
clothes  it  and  shapes  it  into  marvelous  beauty; 
but  men  with  undying  souls  and  measureless 

16 


Beginning  Well. 

possibilities  should  have  a  purpose  worthy 
of  their  immortality,  and  should  strive  with 
heroic  energy  to  attain  it. 

In  entering  the  Christian  life  there  should 
be  a  clear  aim.  We  should  know  definitely 
what  this  new  life  is  which  we  have  now  to 
live.  With  but  vague  ideas  of  the  meaning 
of  a  Christian  life — its  ideal,  its  requirements, 
its  privileges,  the  duties  which  belong  to  it — 
no  one  can  begin  well.  All  is  vague  and 
misty,  and  while  it  is  so  we  cannot  put  any 
purpose  or  energy  into  our  life.  We  need  to 
understand  the  new  relations  into  which  we 
come  as  children  of  God,  in  order  that  we 
may  realize  the  privileges  of  our  position. 
We  need  to  have  a  clear  conception  of  the 
final  aim  of  all  Christian  attainment  and 
aspiration,  in  order  that  we  may  strive 
toward  it.  We  need  to  know  what  is  re¬ 
quired  of  a  Christian  toward  his  God  and 
toward  his  fellow  men,  in  order  that  we  may 
faithfully  and  intelligently  perform  all  our 
duties.  We  need  to  know  the  conditions  of 
Christian  life — its  needs,  its  dangers — in 
order  that  we  may  avail  ourselves  of  the 
necessary  helps  provided  for  us.  Thus  a 
clear  and  intelligent  aim  is  essential  in  be¬ 
ginning  well  as  a  Christian. 

The  other  essential  thing  in  beginning  well 
is  the  devotion  and  consecration  of  ourselves 
to  the  new  life  we  have  chosen.  A  good 

1 7 


2 


In  His  Steps. 


ideal  is  not  enough.  One  may  aim  an  arrow 
with  perfect  accuracy,  but  the  bow  must  also 
be  drawn  and  the  cord  let  fly  if  the  arrow  is 
to  reach  the  mark.  A  vision  in  the  brain  is 
not  enough  for  the  sculptor  :  he  must  hew 
and  chisel  the  marble  into  the  form  of  his 
vision.  The  architect’s  plan  is  only  a  pic¬ 
ture,  and  there  must  be  toil  and  cost  until 
the  building  stands  complete  in  its  noble 
beauty. 

A  good  aim  is  not  all  of  a  Christian  life. 
It  is  nothing  more  than  an  empty  dream 
unless  it  be  wrought  out  in  Godlike  character 
and  Christlike  ministry.  Every  earnest  Chris¬ 
tian  looks  much  at  the  glorious  Master,  and, 
as  he  looks,  visions  of  wondrous  beauty  fill 
his  soul — glimpses  of  the  loveliness  of  Christ; 
and  he  must  then  seek  with  patient  yet  in¬ 
tense  purpose  to  reproduce  these  heavenly 
visions  in  his  own  life. 

Many  people  have  sublimest  aspirations 
and  wishes — and  even  form  their  aspirations 
and  wishes  into  intentions  and  resolves — who 
yet  never  take  a  step  toward  realizing  them. 
Mere  knowing  what  it  is  to  be  a  Christian 
makes  no  one  a  Christian  ;  many  perish  with 
the  glorious  ideal  shining  full  and  clear 
before  their  eyes.  Merely  seeing  the  beauty 
of  Christ,  as  it  is  held  before  us  for  our  copy¬ 
ing,  will  never  fashion  us  into  that  beauty. 
Our  knowledge  must  be  wrought  into  life. 

18 


Beginning  Well. 


The  image  our  souls  see  must  be  fashioned 
into  character.  Our  good  intentions  must 
take  form  in  daily  deeds.  Knowing  God’s 
will,  we  must  do  it  with  willing  heart  and 
diligent  hand. 

“  Make  my  mortal  dreams  come  true 
With  the  work  I  fain  would  do ; 

Clothe  with  life  the  weak  intent: 

Let  me  be  the  thing  I  meant ; 

Let  me  find  in  thy  employ 
Peace  that  dearer  is  than  joy  ; 

Out  of  self  to  love  be  led, 

And  to  heaven  acclimated, 

Until  all  things  sweet  and  good 
Seem  my  natural  habitude.” 


19 


CHAPTER  III. 


The  Christian  Life:  The  Ideal. 

^HAT  is  it  to  be  a  Christian?  What  is 
that  change  which,  wrought  in  a  natural 
man,  makes  him  a  Christian  man  ?  What 
are  a  Christian’s  new  relations  to  God  and  to 
his  fellow  men  ?  What  is  Christian  char¬ 
acter  ?  How  should  a  Christian  live  ?  What 
is  the  pattern  on  which  his  life  should  be 
fashioned  ?  If  we  would  make  our  Christian 
life  what  it  ought  to  be,  we  must  find  plain, 
dear  answers  to  these  questions. 

A  Christian  is  one  who  believes  on  Christ. 
He  has  intrusted  his  whole  life,  with  its  sin, 
its  guilt,  its  ruin,  its  need  its  security  for 
eternity,  its  redemption,  cleansing  and  trans¬ 
formation,  to  the  hands  of  the  mighty  Saviour, 
the  strong  Son  of  God.  A  Christian  is  there¬ 
fore  a  saved  one,  a  redeemed  one — saved, 
redeemed,  by  Christ.  He  is  no  longer  guilty 
and  condemned:  he  is  acquitted,  justified, 
restored  to  such  relations  before  God  that  he 
is  as  if  he  had  never  sinned,  so  fully  are  his 
sins  put  away.  He  is  God’s  lost  and  wander- 


The  Christian  Life  :  The  Ideal. 


ing  child  brought  home,  received,  reconciled, 
restored  to  all  a  child’s  privileges. 

But  this  is  not  all ;  it  is  not  merely  a  change 
of  relations.  Those  who  believe  on  Christ 
are  born  again,  the  Scriptures  say — born  from 
above,  born  of  God ;  that  is,  there  is  a  new, 
a  divine,  life  in  the  regenerated  soul.  Christ 
speaks  of  it  as  a  well  of  water  in  the  believer 
springing  up  into  everlasting  life.  The  result 
is  shown  in  new  affections,  new  desires,  new 
hopes,  new  aims.  Forgiveness  of  sins  is  not 
enough.  A  man’s  lies  and  dishonesties  may 
be  forgiven ;  but,  if  that  is  all,  he  is  still  a 
liar  and  dishonest.  God’s  forgiveness  re¬ 
generates.  A  Christian  life  is  the  setting  up 
of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  a  human  heart. 

A  child  was  troubled  at  the  thought  that 
heaven  was  so  far  away,  and  was  perplexed 
to  know  how  he  could  ever  get  up  to  that 
bright  home.  His  mother  explained  to  him 
that  heaven  must  first  come  down  to  him — 
must  first  enter  his  heart.  A  Christian  is  one 
into  whose  heart  the  spirit  of  heaven  has 
entered.  The  new  life  is  like  that  they  live 
in  heaven.  We  are  taught  to  pray,  “  Thy 
will  be  done  in  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven.” 
The  one  place  in  all  the  earth  in  which  it 
most  concerns  each  Christian  to  see  that 
God’s  will  is  done  as  it  is  in  heaven  is  in  his 
own  individual  heart. 

If  we  are  truly  born  again,  the  life  of 


21 


In  His  Steps. 


heaven  has  really  begun  within  us.  It  may 
be  very  feeble  in  its  beginning,  like  one  little 
seed  only,  planted  in  a  garden ;  but  the  one 
seed  is  from  heaven,  and  the  new  life  in  us 
has  truly  begun.  “  That  which  is  born  of 
the  Spirit,”  said  the  Master,  “is  spirit.”  It  is 
the  life  of  the  Spirit  in  a  human  soul.  Paul 
put  this  truth  in  a  very  striking  way  when  he 
said,  “I  live;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in 
me.”  Our  Lord  said  a  Christian  is  “a 
branch  ”  of  the  true  Vine.  This  suggests 
what  Christian  life  and  character  should  be 
before  the  world.  Every  true  Christian  is  a 
new  incarnation.  Christ  showed  the  world  in 
his  own  person  the  life  of  the  invisible  God. 
No  human  eye  ever  saw  God  in  his  glory  ; 
no  one  could  ever  have  seen  him  had  not 
Christ  come  down  and  in  a  plain,  simple,  and 
real,  human  life  which  men  could  see  and 
understand,  lived  out  the  divine  life  which  in 
its  glory  men  could  neither  see  nor  under¬ 
stand.  He  interpreted  the  invisible  things  of 
God  in  act  and  phrase  which  the  common 
people  could  read.  He  said,  when  he  was 
asked  about  God,  “  Look  at  me  and  see  God. 
I  and  my  Father  are  one.  He  that  hath  seen 
me  hath  seen  the  Father.” 

In  like  manner,  in  his  own  small  measure, 
every  one  truly  a  Christian  is  an  incarnation 
of  God,  and  should  be  able  in  humility  to 
say,  “  Look  at  me,  and  you  will  see  a  dim 


22 


The  Christian  Life :  The  Ideal. 


but  faithful  representation  of  God.”  This 
puts  a  very  solemn  responsibility  on  every 
Christian.  He  represents  God  in  this  world, 
and  is  to  live  in  such  a  way  that  from  his  life 
men  shall  learn  the  truth  about  God.  If 
Christ  lives  in  us,  men  must  see  Christ  in  our 
faces  and  hear  him  in  our  words  and  learn 
of  him  in  our  acts. 

The  ideal  of  Christian  life  is  therefore  the 
likeness  of  Christ.  That  is  the  pattern  shown 
in  the  mount  after  which  we  are  to  strive  to 
fashion  our  life. 

As  we  study  Christ  in  the  Gospels  there 
rises  up  before  us  the  vision  of  his  matchless 
beauty.  We  go  over  the  chapters,  and  we 
find  one  fragment  of  his  loveliness  here  and 
another  there ;  and  as  we  read  the  story 
through  to  the  end  beauty  after  beauty  ap¬ 
pears,  until  at  length  we  see  a  full  vision  of 
the  Christ  which,  though  imperfect  by  reason 
of  the  imperfectness  of  our  nature,  yet  truly 
represents  to  us  the  image  of  our  blessed  Re¬ 
deemer.  This  is  the  pattern  we  are  to  follow 
in  fashioning  our  lives.  This  is  the  vision 
we  are  to  seek  to  carve  into  reality  in  our 
own  character.  All  our  acts  we  are  to  bring 
to  the  example  of  Christ,  testing  each  one 
by  that  infallible  standard. 

The  Gospels  should  be  studied  by  the  young 
Christian  as  a  builder  studies  the  architect’s 
drawings,  that  every  minutest  detail  may  be 


23 


In  His  Steps. 


exactly  reproduced  so  far  as  in  a  faulty  and 
sinful  human  life  the  character  and  conduct 
of  the  faultless  and  sinless  Jesus  can  be  rej 
produced.  The  perfect  pattern  is  ever  to  be 
held  before  us  for  imitation,  and  as  we  look 
at  it  glowing  in  all  its  marvelous  beauty,  yet 
far  above  us  and  beyond  our  present  reach, 
we  are  to  comfort  ourselves  and  stir  our 
hearts  to  the  noblest  efforts  and  highest  at¬ 
tainments  by  the  thought,  “  That  is  what 
some  time  I  am  going  to  be.”  However 
slow  may  be  our  progress  toward  that  perfect 
ideal ;  however  sore  the  struggles  with  weak¬ 
ness  and  sin  ;  however  often  we  fail, — we  are 
never  to  lose  sight  of  the  distant  goal  nor 
cease  to  strive  and  press  toward  the  mark. 
Some  day,  if  we  are  faithful  to  the  end  and 
faint  not,  we  shall  emerge  out  of  all  failure 
and  struggle,  and,  seeing  Jesus  as  he  is,  shall 
be  fully  transformed  into  his  blessed  image. 

Such  is  the  aim  of  the  Christian  life.  “  We 
shall  be  like  him” — that  is  the  final  destiny 
of  every  redeemed  life.  This  should  be  in¬ 
spiration  enough  to  arouse  in  the  dullest  soul 
every  sluggish  hope  and  every  slumbering 
energy,  and  to  impel  to  the  highest  effort  and 
the  most  heroic  struggle.  This  assurance 
should  perpetually  shine  like  a  bright  star 
beyond  the  fields  of  toil  and  battle,  forbid¬ 
ding  discouragement  in  any  temporary  fail¬ 
ure  or  defeat  and  cheering  all  faintness  and 


24 


The  Christian  Life :  The  Ideal. 


weariness  into  buoyant  strength  and  enthu¬ 
siasm. 

This  goal  of  blessedness  is  not  to  be  reached 
at  one  bound :  it  is  the  work  of  long  and 
painful  years,  and  the  progress  is  slow  and 
the  transformation  gradual  and  almost  im¬ 
perceptible. 

“  Heaven  is  not  gained  by  a  single  bound, 

But  we  build  the  ladder  by  which  we  rise 
From  the  lowly  earth  to  the  vaulted  skies, 

And  we  mount  to  its  summit  round  by  round.” 

It  will  help  us,  in  striving  after  the  per¬ 
fected  beauty,  to  remember  that  we  can  best 
attain  it  by  carving  each  moment’s  line  with 
care.  God  gives  us  life  by  days  and  hours, 
not  by  months  and  years.  The  way  to  have 
his  purpose  for  us  fulfilled  in  us  is  to  fill  each 
minute  with  simple  faithfulness.  Doing  God’s 
will  for  one  moment  not  only  lights  the  path 
for  the  next,  but  prepares  us  for  its  responsi¬ 
bility.  Charles  Kingsley  said,  “  Do  to-day’s 
duty,  fight  to-day’s  temptation,  and  do  not 
weaken  or  distract  yourself  by  looking  for¬ 
ward  to  things  which  you  cannot  see,  and 
could  not  understand  if  you  saw  them.” 

Character  is  a  mosaic  in  which  each  day 
has  its  little  stone  to  set ;  we  need  but  to  look 
well  to  the  days  as  they  come,  and  to  print 
on  each  its  record  of  beauty,  and  the  whole 
will  be  beautiful  in  the  end.  This  living  sim- 

-5 


In  His  Steps. 


ply  by  the  day  is  one  of  the  royal  secrets  of  a 
beautiful  life  which  every  young  Christian 
should  learn. 

A  life  thus  lived,  each  day  made  beautiful 
with  the  beauty  of  holiness  and  of  useful¬ 
ness,  will  in  the  end  give  a  record  of  duty 
well  done,  of  work  completed,  of  blessings 
left  behind  at  each  step,  and  a  character 
transfigured  by  the  indwelling  divine  Spirit 
and  the  outworking  of  love  until  it  shines  in 
the  full  likeness  of  Christ  himself. 


-s6 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Living  for  God  :  Consecration. 

JT  is  not  enough  to  cut  loose  from  the  old 
life :  the  young  Christian  must  enter  the 
new  life.  Leaving  the  service  of  one  master, 
he  must  enlist  in  that  of  another.  Withdraw¬ 
ing  his  heart’s  affections  from  one  class  of 
objects,  he  must  fix  them  upon  another  class. 
Ceasing  to  do  evil,  he  must  also  learn  to  do 
well.  No  longer  a  servant  of  sin,  he  must 
become  a  servant  of  righteousness.  Mere 
repentance  is  not  enough ;  giving  up  one’s 
wicked  ways  is  but  half  of  conversion  :  there 
must  also  be  a  devotement  of  the  life  to 
Christ.  The  heart  cannot  be  left  empty. 

“  When  St.  Boniface  had  hewn  down  the 
sacred  oak  worshiped  by  the  savages  in  the 
tangled  forests  of  Germany,  he  did  not  stop 
with  destroying  it,  but  when  it  was  felled 
built  out  of  its  fallen  and  splintered  frag¬ 
ments  the  chapel  of  St.  Peter,  and  in  the 
room  of  the  worship  of  Thor  the  Thunderer 
left  the  worship  of  Christ  the  crucified.  ‘  To 
replace  is  to  conquer  ;’  and  the  theology  of 

27 


In  His  Steps. 


the  forests  fled  back  abashed  before  the  the¬ 
ology  of  the  cross.” 

When  we  break  with  the  world,  we  must 
straightway  bow  before  Christ ;  indeed,  we 
can  be  freed  from  the  dominion  of  the  old 
master  only  by  the  coming  into  our  hearts 
of  the  new.  The  only  way  we  can  turn  from 
sin  is  by  turning  to  Christ.  He  then  be' 
comes,  first,  Deliverer  and  Saviour ;  after¬ 
wards,  King  and  Lord.  As  such  he  must  be 
accepted,  and  the  whole  allegiance  of  the 
life  should  instantly  be  transferred  to  him. 

This  is  conversion  ;  it  is  going  over  to 
Christ  fully,  wholly,  freely  and  for  ever.  It 
is  not  merely  attaching  ourselves  to  the 
church:  it •  is  attaching  ourselves  to  Christ. 
It  is  not  merely  entering  upon  a  good  moral 
life — pure,  honest,  clean ;  not  merely  en¬ 
gaging  in  active  Christian  work  :  it  is  the 
acceptance  of  Christ,  first  as  a  personal  Sa¬ 
viour,  then  as  a  personal  Lord.  It  is  coming 
to  Christ  himself,  believing  on  him,  following 
him,  loving  him,  obeying  him. 

It  is  important  that  the  young  Christian 
shall  understand  this,  and  that  his  devotion 
to  his  Lord  shall  be  real  and  complete.  No 
man  can  serve  two  masters.  It  will  not  do  to 
try  a  divided  allegiance.  True  consecration 
carries  all  over  to  Christ. 

For  one  thing,  this  means  holiness:  “Ye 
are  not  your  own,  for  ye  are  bought  with  a 

28 


Living  for  God  :  Consecration. 


price :  therefore  glorify  God.”  Holiness 
means  separation  for  God.  The  life  which 
belongs  to  Christ  must  be  kept  from  sin. 
The  hands  which  are  held  up  in  prayer  and 
that  take  the  sacramental  emblems  must  not 
touch  any  unclean  thing.  The  lips  which 
speak  to  God,  sing  his  praise  and  pronounce 
his  name  must  not  be  stained  by  any  sin¬ 
ful  or  bitter  words.  The  heart  which  is  the 
dwelling  place  of  the  Holy  Spirit  must  not 
open  to  any  thought  or  affection  that  would 
defile  God’s  temple.  The  feet  which  Christ’s 
pierced  hands  have  washed  must  not  walk 
in  any  of  sin’s  unhallowed  paths.  A  con¬ 
secrated  life  must  be  holy. 

Unholiness  is  very  subtle.  It  creeps  in 
when  we  are  not  aware.  It  begins  in  the 
heart.  At  first  it  is  but  a  thought,  a  moment’s 
imagination,  a  passing  emotion,  or  a  desire. 
Hence  the  heart  should  be  kept  with  unre¬ 
mitting  diligence.  Only  pure  and  good 
thoughts  should  be  entertained.  It  is  in  the 
thoughts  that  all  life  begins.  All  acts  are 
thoughts  first.  Our  thoughts  build  up  our 
character  as  the  coral  insects  build  up  the 
great  reefs.  As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart 
so  is  he.  If  we  are  to  keep  ourselves  un¬ 
spotted  from  the  world  as  we  pass  through 
its  foul  streets,  we  must  see  to  it  that  no 
unholy  thing  is  for  a  moment  tolerated  in  our 
heart.  A  crime  stains  one’s  name  before 


29 


In  His  Steps. 


the  world ;  a  sinful  thought  or  wish  stains 
the  soul  in  God’s  sight  and  grieves  the  di¬ 
vine  Spirit  within  us. 

But  the  keeping  of  the  life  unspotted  is  not 
the  whole  of  living  for  God :  there  must  be 
service  also.  When  young  Christians  are 
received  into  the  church  they  profess  to  dedi¬ 
cate  themselves  and  all  they  have — time, 
talents,  money,  every  power  of  body,  soul, 
and  spirit — to  the  service  of  Christ  for  ever. 
This  means  that  they  will  no  longer  claim 
mastership  over  themselves  ;  that  henceforth 
they  are  Christ’s  servants ;  that  they  will  live 
for  Christ  only  all  the  days ;  that  they  will 
listen  at  each  step  for  his  command  and 
promptly  obey  it ;  that  they  will  devote  all 
their  possessions  to  him,  using  them  for  him 
and  at  his  bidding ;  and  that  they  will  em¬ 
ploy  their  talents  and  influence  to  advance 
his  kingdom. 

Daily  duty  in  the  common  relations  of  life 
is  as  much  part  of  a  true  consecration  as  are 
praying,  reading  the  Bible,  and  attending 
church  services.  If  the  heart  be  given  to 
Christ,  the  whole  life  is  holy.  We  do  not  live 
two  lives — one  religious  and  one  secular — 
after  we  become  Christians.  We  are  always 
to  do  God’s  will,  and  it  is  as  much  his  will 
that  we  should  be  diligent  in  business  as  that 
we  should  be  fervent  in  spirit. 


30 


Living  for  God  :  Consecration. 

“  The  trivial  round,  the  common  task, 

Would  furnish  all  we  ought  to  ask — 

Room  to  deny  ourselves,  a  road 
To  bring  us  daily  nearer  God.” 

When  young  persons  yet  in  school  become 
Christians,  they  are  not  to  drop  their  secular 
studies  and  read  the  Bible  all  the  time :  they 
are  to  go  on  with  their  lessons — only  with 
new  motives,  for  Christ  now — faithfully  using 
every  moment,  diligently  striving  to  get  the 
greatest  possible  benefit  and  improvement 
from  their  education  to  fit  them  for  the  life 
and  work  before  them.  When  religion  makes 
a  pupil  less  diligent,  less  studious,  less  earn¬ 
est,  there  is  something  wrong.  When  a 
young  man  in  a  trade  or  business  gives  him¬ 
self  to  Christ,  unless  his  occupation  is  sinful 
he  is  ordinarily  called  to  continue  in  it,  car¬ 
rying  his  Christian  principles  into  it  and  do¬ 
ing  business  now  for  Christ. 

Secular  work  is  not  unholy.  All  duty  is 
sacred  in  God’s  sight.  The  hands  of  Jesus 
swung  the  ax  and  pushed  the  plane,  and  he 
pleased  the  Father  just  as  well  then  as  when 
he  was  praying  and  reading  the  Scriptures. 
Paul’s  hand  sewed  upon  tents,  and  he  was 
just  as  near  to  God  when  thus  at  work  as 
when  he  was  preaching  in  the  synagogue. 

Of  course  the  motive  of  life  is  changed 
when  we  truly  belong  to  Christ.  Self  comes 
down  from  the  throne  and  we  do  everything 

3i 


In  His  Steps. 


for  the  Master:  “  Whether  ye  eat,  or  drink, 
or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of 
God.”  We  train  our  powers  to  greater  effi¬ 
ciency  that  we  may  be  more  useful  in  Christ’s 
work.  We  live  carefully  that  in  the  smallest 
things  we  may  honor  him.  We  seek  in¬ 
creased  influence  that  we  may  do  more  to 
bless  the  world  and  advance  the  glory  of 
Christ’s  name.  The  world  is  reading  our 
lives,  and  it  reads  no  other  Bible  ;  we  must 
make  sure,  therefore,  that  our  daily  actions 
spell  out  a  true  gospel,  so  that  no  one  who 
sees  us  may  ever  get  from  us  a  wrong  thought 
of  Christ  or  a  wrong  sense  of  his  religion. 

We  do  not  understand  one  half  the  bless¬ 
ing  to  others  and  the  influence  for  religion 
there  is  in  simply  being  good.  We  struggle 
to  be  active  and  to  do  many  things.  We 
run  everywhere  to  work  for  Christ.  We 
think  that  unless  we  are  always  doing  some¬ 
thing,  or  talking  to  somebody,  or  holding  a 
meeting  somewhere,  or  visiting  the  poor  or 
the  sick,  we  are  not  useful.  We  make  a  mis¬ 
take.  There  is  no  other  such  power  for  real 
usefulness  and  helpfulness,  no  other  such 
glorifying  of  God,  as  in  simple  goodness. 
Holy  life  itself  is  highest  service. 

Hence  there  should  be  in  every  young 
Christian  the  most  conscientious  watchfulness 
over  the  early  growths  of  spirituality  in  his 
own  heart.  These  growths  are  tender  and 

32 


Living  for  God :  Consecration. 


easily  destroyed,  like  the  young  plants  which 
the  gardener  keeps  in  his  conservatory 
through  the  winter  and  cool  spring  days. 

The  whole  matter  of  heart-culture  requires 
the  utmost  diligence.  All  life,  business  and 
social  as  well  as  religious,  must  be  made  to 
contribute  to  it.  We  should  form  our  friend¬ 
ships  and  choose  our  amusements  with  refer¬ 
ence  to  their  effect  on  our  heart-life.  Some 
one  has  given  this  true  test,  whose  applica¬ 
tion  should  be  wide  as  life  itself :  “  Whatever 
weakens  your  reason,  impairs  the  tenderness 
of  your  conscience,  obscures  your  view  of 
God  or  takes  off  the  relish  of  spiritual  things 
— in  short,  whatever  increases  the  authority 
of  your  body  over  your  mind — that  is  sin  to 
you ,  however  innocent  it  may  be  in  itself.” 

A  life  so  regulated,  so  watched,  so  ruled  by 
conscience  and  by  the  word  and  Spirit  of 
God,  will  grow  into  a  living  power  of  real 
holiness  the  value  of  whose  ministry  will  be 
incalculable  in  its  silent  pervasive  influence. 

“  Birds,  by  being  glad,  their  Maker  bless  ; 

By  simply  shining,  sun  and  star  ; 

And  we,  whose  law  is  love,  serve  less 
By  what  we  do  than  what  we  are.” 

There  is  still  another  part  of  all  true  con¬ 
secration  :  besides  living  a  pure  and  good 
life,  and  besides  doing  all  our  daily  work  for 
Christ,  we  should  also  embrace  every  oppor- 

33 


3 


In  His  Steps. 


tunity  of  doing  good  to  others  in  Christ’s 
name  and  for  his  sake.  There  are  needy 
and  suffering  ones  all  about  us,  and  we  are 
to  do  Christ’s  errands  to  these,  performing  for 
them  the  ministries  of  kindness  and  mercy 
which  he  would  render  if  he  were  here  in 
person.  There  are  weak  and  fainting  ones 
about  us  who  find  life  hard  and  who  need 
sympathy  and  help.  To  all  these  we  have 
errands  of  love ;  we  should  share  their 
burdens  and  put  strong,  sustaining  arms 
about  them  in  their  weakness. 

A  life  for  Christ  must  always  be  a  life  of 
love,  of  usefulness  and  of  helpfulness.  No 
true  Christian  lives  for  himself.  We  have 
our  model  in  him  who  came  “  not  to  be 
ministered  unto,  but  to  minister.”  We  need 
not  wait  for  great  opportunities — these  come 
but  rarely ;  the  common  days  are  full  of 
opportunities  for  little  kindnesses,  thoughtful¬ 
nesses,  and  unselfishnesses,  and  in  order  to 
write  bright  records  for  ourselves  we  have 
only  to  seize  these  and  stretch  out  our  hands 
to  render  the  ministries  to  which  God  thus 
invites  and  calls  us.  Doing  the  thing  that 
Christ  himself  would  do  if  he  were  precisely 
in  our  place — that  is  the  rule  for  Christian 
living. 

Thus  consecration  becomes  very  real.  It 
is  living  for  God,  day  by  day,  hour  by 
hour.  It  is  nothing  strained  or  unnatural ; 

34 


Living  for  God:  Consecration. 


it  does  not  wrench  us  out  of  our  place  nor 
disturb  our  relationships  unless  they  are  sin¬ 
ful  ;  it  is  the  simple  living  out  in  true  devo¬ 
tion  to  Christ,  in  unquestioning  obedience 
and  in  quiet  faithfulness,  the  life  he  gives, 
in  whatever  sphere  our  lot  may  be  cast. 


35 


CHAPTER  V. 


Meeting  Temptation  :  Conflict. 


JHE  experience  of  temptation  is  universal. 

Every  life  must  grow  up  amid  unfriend¬ 
ly  and  opposing  influences — some  of  them 
subtle  and  insidious,  like  miasma  in  the  air ; 
some  of  them  fierce  and  wild,  like  the  blast 
of  storm  or  the  rush  of  battle.  Much  is 
said  in  sermons  about  the  solemn  nature  of 
death ;  yet  really  it  is  not  half  so  perilous  a 
thing  to  die  as  it  is  to  live.  No  child  of  God 
was  ever  lost,  or  even  harmed,  in  the  experi¬ 
ence  of  dying. 


"  The  grave  itself  is  but  a  covered  bridge 
Leading  from  light  to  light  through  a  brief  dark¬ 
ness.” 

But  life  is  full  of  peril.  To  live  truly  we 
must  battle  day  by  day.  Satan  is  no  medi¬ 
aeval  myth,  but  an  actual  foe,  powerful, 
cunning,  treacherous,  terrible.  Danger  lurks 
in  every  shadow. 

The  question  in  life  is  not  how  to  escape 
temptation,  but  how  to  pass  through  it  so  as 


Meeting  Temptation  :  Conflict. 


not  to  be  harmed  by  it.  Christ’s  way  of 
helping  us  is  not  by  keeping  us  out  of  the 
conflicts.  This  would  leave  us  forever  weak, 
untried,  undisciplined.  The  price  of  spiritual 
attainment  and  culture  is  struggle.  Jesus 
himself  was  made  perfect  through  suffering. 

All  the  best  things  in  life — the  only  things 
worth  obtaining — lie  beyond  fields  of  battle, 
and  we  can  get  them  only  by  overcoming. 
It  would  be  no  kindness  to  us  were  God  to 
withdraw  us  into  some  sheltered  spot  when¬ 
ever  there  is  danger,  or  if  he  were  to  fight 
our  battles  for  us,  thus  freeing  us  from  all 
necessity  to  struggle. 

“  He  who  hath  never  a  conflict  hath  never  a  victor’s 
palm, 

And  only  the  toilers  know  the  sweetness  of  rest 
and  calm.” 

We  must  meet  temptation,  and  we  must 
fight.  Not  to  fight  is  to  lose  all.  Nor  is 
there  really  any  need  for  yielding.  The 
weakest  child  may  move  unharmed  through 
the  sorest  strifes.  It  is  possible  to  meet  the 
strongest  temptations  and  not  be  hurt  by 
them.  It  has  been  done.  Men  have  met 
the  fiercest  enemies,  the  most  unrelenting 
oppositions,  passing  through  the  hottest 
flames,  and  have  come  out,  like  the  Hebrew 
children  from  the  king’s  furnace,  without 
even  the  smell  of  fire  on  their  garments. 

37 


In  His  Steps. 


Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  weakness  of 
human  nature  unhelped  and  unsustained, 
there  still  is  no  need  for  any  trembling  soul 
to  faint  or  to  fail  in  the  strife. 

There  is  a  divine  Helper  who  himself  went 
into  the  thickest  of  the  struggle  and  passed 
through  it  unharmed.  He  was  “  in  all  points 
tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin  ” — 
that  is,  he  met  all  life  victoriously ;  and 
because  he  was  thus  victorious  he  is  able,  not 
only  to  understand  human  struggles  and  to 
sympathize  with  every  one  who  is  tempted, 
but  also  to  give  “  grace  to  help  in  time  of 
need.”  We  have  the  assurance  that  the  faith¬ 
ful  God  will  not  suffer  us  to  be  tempted  above 
that  we  are  able  ;  but  will  with  the  temptation 
make  the  way  of  escape,  that  we  may  be  able 
to  endure  it. 

There  is,  therefore,  a  way  of  so  living  in 
this  world  as  not  to  suffer  harm  in  even  the 
fiercest  temptations — to  pass  through  them 
and  not  be  touched  by  them.  There  is  even 
a  way  of  so  meeting  temptations  as  to  get 
benefit  and  blessing  from  them.  An  apostle 
said,  “  Count  it  all  joy  when  ye  fall  into  mani¬ 
fold  temptations ;  knowing  that  the  proof  of 
your  faith  worketh  patience;”  ‘‘Blessed  is 
the  man  that  endureth  temptation  :  for  when 
he  hath  been  approved,  he  shall  receive  the 
crown  of  life,  which  the  Lord  promised  to 
them  that  love  him.” 


38 


Meeting  Temptation  :  Conflict. 


Rightly  meeting  and  victoriously  resisting 
puts  new  fiber  into  the  soul.  The  Indians  say 
that  when  a  warrior  kills  a  foe  the  spirit  of 
the  vanquished  enemy  enters  the  victor’s 
heart  and  adds  to  his  own  strength.  This  is 
true  in  spiritual  warfare.  We  grow  stronger 
through  our  struggles  and  victories.  Each 
lust  conquered,  each  evil  subdued,  adds  to 
the  strength  of  our  soul. 

The  question,  then,  is  how  to  meet  tempta¬ 
tion  so  as  to  overcome  it,  and  thus  win  the 
blessing  there  is  in  it.  We  must  remember, 
first  of  all,  that  we  are  not  able  in  ourselves 
successfully  to  fight  our  battles.  If  we  think 
we  are,  and  go  forth  in  our  own  name  and 
strength,  we  shall  fail.  Life  is  too  large,  and 
its  struggles  and  conflicts  are  too  sore,  for  the 
strongest  human  power  unaided. 

We  must  settle  it  once  for  all  that  we  can 
conquer  only  in  the  name  and  by  the  help  of 
the  strong  Son  of  God.  We  may  come  off 
the  field  more  than  conquerors,  but  only 
through  him  that  loved  us.  We  can  pass 
safely  through  all  the  fierce  dangers  of  this 
world  and  be  kept  unspotted  amid  its  sin  and 
foulness,  but  only  if  we  have  with  us  him 
who  is  able  to  guard  us  from  stumbling  and 
set  us  before  the  presence  of  his  glory  without 
blemish  in  exceeding  joy.  Self-confidence  in 
temptation  is  fatal  folly. 

Then  we  must  be  sure  that  the  temptation 


39 


In  His  Steps. 


we  are  meeting  really  lies  in  the  path  of  our 
duty — that  God  calls  us  to  meet  it.  Some 
temptations  must  be  overcome  by  avoidance, 
by  not  meeting  them.  We  pray  each  morn¬ 
ing,  “Lead  us  not  into  temptation;’’  we 
must,  then,  be  sure  that  we  are  following  our 
Father’s  leading  when  we  enter  any  way  of 
temptation.  Only  when  the  temptation  comes 
in  the  path  over  which  the  divine  Guide  takes 
us,  have  we  the  assurance  of  protection  in  it. 

Lord  Macaulay  tells  us  that  at  the  siege  of 
Naumur,  while  the  conflict  was  raging, 
William,  prince  of  Orange,  who  was  giving 
his  orders  under  a  shower  of  bullets,  saw  with 
surprise  and  anger  among  his  staff  officers 
Michael  Godfrey,  the  deputy  governor  of  the 
Bank  of  England.  He  had  come  to  the  king’s 
headquarters  on  business,  and  was  curious  to 
see  real  war. 

“Mr.  Godfrey,”  said  King  William,  “you 
ought  not  to  run  these  hazards.  You  are  not 
a  soldier ;  you  can  be  of  no  use  to  us  here.” 

“  Sir,”  answered  Godfrey,  “  I  run  no  more 
risk  than  Your  Majesty.” 

“Not  so,”  said  William.  “I  am  where  it 
is  my  duty  to  be,  and  I  may  without  pre¬ 
sumption  commit  my  life  to  God’s  keeping; 
but  you — ” 

Before  the  sentence  was  finished  a  cannon¬ 
ball  laid  Godfrey  dead  at  the  king’s  feet. 

The  king’s  words  were  true,  and  the  truth 

40 


Meeting  Temptation  :  Conflict. 


is  just  as  applicable  to  temptations  and  spirit¬ 
ual  dangers  as  to  the  perils  of  war.  When 
duty  calls  us  into  any  place,  we  are  safe : 
God  will  protect  us  ;  but  otherwise  we  venture 
without  any  promise  of  shelter.  We  must 
face  danger  only  when  God  and  duty  unmis¬ 
takably  lead. 

Then,  when  we  find  ourselves  in  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  temptation,  we  must  not  forget  that 
we  have  something  to  do  ourselves  in  getting 
the  victory.  Men  and  devils  may  tempt  us, 
but  men  and  devils  cannot  force  us  to  yield. 
We  are  sovereigns  in  our  choices  while  the 
right  and  the  wrong  stand  before  us.  Other 
wills  than  ours  may  seek  to  influence  us — 
may  plead,  entreat,  persuade — but  they  can¬ 
not  compel. 

We  cannot  avoid  being  tempted,  but  we 
ought  to  avoid  yielding  to  temptation.  Luther 
used  to  say,  “We  cannot  keep  the  birds  from 
flying  round  our  heads,  but  we  can  prevent 
them  building  their  nests  in  our  hair.”  We 
cannot  keep  temptations  away  from  our  ears 
nor  prevent  them  whispering  their  seductive 
words  close  by  us,  but  we  can  hinder  them 
making  their  nests  in  our  hearts. 

We  are  not  to  be  passive  in  this  matter. 
We  must  not  expect  God  to  fasten  the  door 
and  hold  his  hand  upon  the  lock.  The  shut¬ 
ting  and  opening  of  the  door  is  our  part  of 
the  responsibility.  Even  God  himself  will 

41 


In  His  Steps. 


never  come  into  our  heart  unless  we  volun¬ 
tarily  open  it  to  him.  Christ  stands  without 
and  knocks,  waiting  with  all  his  wealth  of 
love  and  all  his  power  to  bless  until  we  bid 
him  welcome.  We  with  our  frail  weakness 
can  keep  even  Omnipotence  outside.  So,  as 
divine  grace  cannot  enter  to  do  us  good  un¬ 
less  we  open,  neither  can  satanic  evil  enter 
to  work  ruin  in  our  souls  without  our  consent. 
We  are  doorkeeper  of  our  own  heart.  Thus  the 
final  responsibility  is  with  ourselves.  Hence 
our  duty  in  temptation  is  unwavering  resist¬ 
ance — an  unreversible  “No  !  ”  to  every  solici¬ 
tation  to  sin.  If  we  settle  this  point,  we  have 
learned  one  of  the  greatest  lessons  in  spiritual 
warfare — “having  done  all,  to  stand.” 

Besides  this,  nothing  more  is  needed  but 
faith  and  prayer.  When  the  temptation 
comes  in  the  path  of  duty,  and  when  we  re¬ 
sist  it  with  unflinching  determination,  we  may 
with  simple  confidence  commit  the  keeping 
of  our  life  to  God.  No  evil  can  ever  harm 
us  if  we  cleave  unfalteringly  to  Christ:  “  He 
shall  give  his  angels  charge  over  thee,  to 
keep  thee  in  all  thy  ways.”  Still  better : 
“The  Lord  is  thy  keeper.” 

There  come  times  in  every  life  when  all  we 
can  do  is  to  shut  our  eyes  and  let  God  lead 
us.  Indeed,  in  all  hours  of  darkness  and 
danger,  this  is  our  privilege  and  our  duty ; 
and  if  we  thus  commit  our  way  to  God,  he 

42 


Meeting  Temptation :  Conflict. 

will  bring  us  safely  through  the  last  peril  and 
the  last  struggle  into  the  light  and  joy  of 
victory  on  the  heavenly  plains. 

Then  it  will  be  seen  that  it  has  been  no 
misfortune  that  we  have  had  to  fight  sore 
battles  on  the  earth.  Old  war-veterans  are 
not  ashamed  of  their  scars — they  are  marks 
of  honor ;  they  tell  of  wounds  received  in 
battling  for  their  country.  In  heaven  the  sol¬ 
dier  of  Christ  will  not  be  ashamed  of  the 
scars  he  has  gotten  in  his  warfare  for  his 
Lord  on  the  earth  ;  his  crown  will  be  all  the 
brighter  for  them.  They  will  shine  as  the 
King’s  medals,  decorations  of  honor — “the 
marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus.” 

When  an  army  marches  home  from  a 
victorious  field,  it  is  not  the  bright,  clean,  un¬ 
torn  flag  that  is  most  wildly  cheered,  but  the 
flag  that  is  pierced,  riddled  and  torn  by  the 
shot  and  shell  of  many  a  battle.  So  in  the 
home-coming  in  glory  it  will  not  be  the  man 
who  bears  fewest  marks  of  suffering  and 
struggle  and  fewest  scars  of  wounds  re¬ 
ceived  in  Christ’s  service  who  will  be  wel¬ 
comed  with  the  greatest  joy,  but  the  man 
who  bears  the  marks  of  the  sorest  conflicts 
and  the  greatest  sufferings  for  the  honor  of 
his  Lord  and  for  his  kingdom. 


43 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Working  for  Christ  :  Service. 


J^VERY  truly  consecrated  life  has  been 
made  over  to  Christ  with  all  its  powers. 
Faith  implies  full  surrender:  “Ye  are  not 
your  own  ;  ’’  “Ye  are  Christ’s.”  Christ  owns 
us  first  by  right  of  creation,  then  by  right  of 
purchase ;  and  we  acknowledge  his  owner¬ 
ship  and  all  that  it  includes  when  we  accept 
him  as  our  Saviour  and  Lord.  The  first 
question,  therefore,  of  the  new-believing 
heart  is,  “What  shall  I  do,  Lord?”  We 
want  to  begin  to  work  for  our  new  Master. 


“  Be  thy  best  thoughts  to  work  divine  addressed; 
Do  something — do  it  soon — with  all  thy  might ; 
An  angel’s  wings  would  droop  if  long  at  rest, 
And  God  himself,  inactive,  were  no  longer  blest.” 


We  belong  to  Christ ;  we  are  his  slaves — that 
is  the  word  St.  Paul  used  so  much,  and  with 
such  a  thrill  of  joy  as  he  thought  of  the  honor 
it  denoted.  He  was  Christ’s  slave.  “Whose 
I  am,  and  whom  I  serve,”  was  his  working 
creed.  “Thy  will,  not  mine,”  is  henceforth 


44 


Working  for  Christ :  Service. 


the  only  true  law  of  life  for  us.  We  are  to 
wait  at  each  step  for  Christ’s  bidding.  Our 
very  thoughts  must  be  brought  into  captivity 
to  him. 

This  ownership  covers  and  embraces  all 
life.  A  heart  of  love  for  Christ  makes  the 
sweeping  of  a  room,  the  ploughing  of  a  field, 
the  sawing  of  a  board,  the  making  of  a  gar¬ 
ment,  the  selling  of  a  piece  of  goods,  the 
minding  of  a  baby,  all  actions  as  fine  as  the 
ministry  of  angels. 

One  way  of  working  for  Christ,  therefore, 
is  to  be  diligent  in  the  doing  of  life’s  common 
daily  tasks.  The  true  giving  of  ourselves  to 
God  exalts  all  of  life  into  divine  honor  and 
sacredness.  Nothing  is  trivial  or  indifferent 
which  it  is  our  duty  to  do.  We  are  never  to 
neglect  any  work,  however  secular  it  may 
seem,  in  order  to  do  something  else  which 
appears  to  be  more  religious.  There  are 
some  people  who  would  be  better  Chris¬ 
tians  if  they  paid  more  heed  to  their  own 
daily  business,  attended  fewer  meetings  and 
did  less  religious  gossiping.  Ruskin  says, 
“  Neither  days  nor  lives  can  be  made  holy 
by  doing  nothing  in  them.  The  best  prayer 
at  the  beginning  of  a  day  is  that  we  may  not 
lose  its  moments  ;  and  the  best  grace  before 
meat,  the  consciousness  that  we  have  justly 
earned  our  dinner.” 

We  need  a  religion  which  puts  itself  into 

45 


In  His  Steps. 


everything  we  do.  The  old  shoemaker  was 
right  when  he  said  that  when  he  stands 
before  the  great  white  throne  God  will  ask, 
“What  kind  of  shoes  did  you  make  down  on 
the  earth  ?  ”  We  must  do  all  our  work  for 
the  judgement  day,  our  common  everyday 
tasks  as  well  as  our  religious  duties.  The 
carpenter  must  get  his  religion  into  the 
houses  he  builds,  the  plumber  into  his  plumb¬ 
ing,  the  tailor  into  his  seams,  the  merchant 
into  his  sales.  All  our  work  we  must  do  for 
God’s  eye. 

But,  besides  this  living  of  the  whole  life  for 
Christ,  there  is  specific  work  for  him  in  which 
every  Christian  has  a  part  to  perform.  Every 
one  who  is  saved  should  do  something  toward 
saving  others.  The  first  thought  of  a  truly 
saved  person  is  of  some  friend  or  friends  who 
are  still  in  peril ;  and  the  first  impulse  of  a 
renewed  heart  is  to  try  to  bring  these  lost 
ones  to  the  Saviour.  The  cause  of  Christ  in 
this  world  needs  assistance  in  many  ways, 
and  it  is  the  will  of  the  Master  that  this  cause 
should  be  advanced,  not  by  the  ministry  of 
angels,  not  by  Christ  himself  immediately 
and  directly,  but  by  his  people — those  whom 
he  has  redeemed  and  saved.  The  story  of 
salvation  must  be  told  by  lips  that  have  first 
uttered  the  cry  for  mercy.  The  lost  must  be 
won  by  the  love  of  hearts  that  have  first  been 
broken  in  penitence.  The  divine  blessing  of 

46 


Working  for  Christ :  Service. 

salvation  must  be  carried  in  earthen  vessels 
to  the  perishing. 

Every  Christian  has  something  to  do  for 
Christ  in  this  world.  The  fullest  hands  must 
make  room  for  some  little  part  of  the  Mas¬ 
ter’s  work.  Even  the  child  that  loves  Christ 
may  at  least  carry  a  cup  of  the  water  of  life 
to  some  thirsty  soul. 

Every  Christian  should  be  deeply  imbued 
with  the  missionary  spirit.  A  portion  of  the 
responsibility  for  carrying  the  news  of  salva¬ 
tion  to  every  creature  rests  on  each  follower 
of  Christ.  In  these  days  of  missionary 
activity  there  is  no  one  who  cannot  do  some¬ 
thing  to  help  send  the  gospel  to  heathen 
lands.  Every  young  Christian  should  con¬ 
sider  himself,  from  the  moment  of  his  con¬ 
secration  to  Christ,  a  debtor  to  all  men,  near 
and  far,  who  are  not  yet  saved,  and  in  prayer 
and  work  and  gift  he  should  seek  to  pay  that 
debt  to  the  last  atom  of  his  ability. 

In  nearly  every  church  there  are  mis¬ 
sionary  organizations  for  the  cultivation  of 
the  missionary  spirit,  the  diffusing  of  infor¬ 
mation  and  the  gathering  of  money  for  the 
work  of  missions.  Every  young  Christian 
should  be  identified  with  one  of  these  organi¬ 
zations,  thus  imbibing  the  missionary  spirit 
and  preparing  for  active  interest  and  service 
in  the  cause. 

There  is  also  very  much  sorrow  and  suffer- 

47 


In  His  Steps. 


ing  in  this  world,  and  every  Christian  should 
do  all  in  his  power  to  comfort  the  sorrow  and 
alleviate  the  suffering.  Here,  as  in  all  things, 
Jesus  himself  is  our  example  and  his  life  is 
our  pattern.  We  represent  him  in  this  world. 
He  has  gone  away  to  heaven,  but  he  has  left 
his  people  here  to  carry  on  his  work. 

Here  is  a  wide  field  for  Christlike  and 
most  helpful  ministry.  What  we  need  for  it 
is  a  spirit  of  sympathy  and  kindness  that 
shall  never  fail.  We  may  not  be  able  to  do 
much  to  relieve  those  who  are  troubled :  we 
certainly  cannot  work  miracles  as  Christ  did  ; 
but  we  may  have  a  heart  of  love  which  shall 
manifest  itself  toward  every  one  in  a  spirit 
of  patient  gentleness  and  kindly  thoughtful¬ 
ness. 

Sincere  sympathy  is  oftentimes  better  than 
money.  People  in  distress  generally  need  a 
friend  more  than  they  need  gift  or  miracle. 
God  sends  to  earth  no  angels  whose  ministry 
leaves  more  benedictions  of  joy,  of  help,  of 
inspiration,  of  uplifting,  of  restoring,  than 
are  left  by  the  ministry  of  the  angel  of  true 
human  sympathy. 

For  this  service  we  need  only  to  have  in 
us  the  true  spirit  of  Christ,  a  spirit  of  unself¬ 
ish  love,  and  then  blessing  will  flow  from 
our  life  even  without  effort  or  purpose, 
unconsciously,  as  fragrance  pours  from  a 
flower,  as  light  streams  from  a  lamp. 

48 


Working  for  Christ :  Service. 

'*  As  some  rare  perfume  in  a  vase  of  clay 
Pervades  it  with  a  fragrance  not  its  own, 

So,  when  Thou  dwellest  in  a  mortal  soul, 

All  heaven’s  own  sweetness  seems  around  it 
thrown.” 

Christ  did  other  kinds  of  work,  but  it  was 
the  same  spirit  that  wrought  in  all  his  min¬ 
istry.  He  taught  the  people ;  he  scattered 
the  words  of  truth ;  he  lifted  up  his  voice 
against  wrong  and  sin ;  he  sought  the  lost 
and  led  them  back  to  the  Father;  he  went 
to  the  cross  in  the  room  of  sinners.  In  all 
forms  of  personal  ministry  we  are  to  strive 
to  follow  in  his  steps.  The  golden  seeds  of 
heavenly  truth  which  his  lips  dropped  we  are 
to  seek  to  scatter  everywhere  in  life’s  desert- 
fields. 

The  very  best  thing  we  can  do  for  people 
in  this  world  of  sin  and  sorrow  is  to  get  the 
words  of  Christ  into  their  hearts.  It  is  like 
scattering  flower  seeds  on  the  black  lava  beds 
about  the  fiery  mountain’s  base — in  the  crev¬ 
ices  the  seeds  will  root  and  grow,  and  sweet 
flowers  will  bloom  by  and  by.  Christ’s 
words  are  living  seeds  from  which  spring  up 
heavenly  plants  to  beautify  and  bless  bleak 
and  dreary  lives  over  which  sin’s  fires  have 
rolled.  The  tiniest  hand  and  the  weakest 
can  scatter  these  seeds  in  some  bare  spot 
where  they  will  grow. 

It  is  the  little  things  that  all  of  us  can  do 

4  49 


In  His  Steps. 


in  Christ’s  name  which  in  the  end  leave  the 
largest  aggregate  of  blessing  in  the  world. 
We  need  not  wait  to  do  great  and  conspic¬ 
uous  things.  One  Amazon  is  enough  for  a 
continent,  but  there  is  room  for  a  million 
little  rivulets  and  purling  brooks.  A  life  that 
every  day  gives  its  blessing  to  another  and 
adds  to  the  happiness  of  some  fellow  being 
by  only  a  word  of  kindness,  a  thoughtful  act, 
a  cheering  look,  or  a  hearty  hand-grasp,  does 
more  for  the  world  than  he  who  but  once  in 
a  lifetime  does  some  great  thing  which  fills 
a  land  with  his  praise.  Nothing  that  is  done 
for  Christ  is  lost.  The  smallest  acts,  the 
quietest  words,  the  gentlest  inspirations  that 
touch  human  souls,  leave  their  impress  for 
eternity. 

Then,  while  we  are  giving  out  blessings  to 
help  and  to  enrich  other  lives,  we  are  receiv¬ 
ing  also  into  our  own  heart.  The  words  of 
the  Master  are  literally  true:  “It  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.”  He  did 
not  say  it  is  more  pleasant,  more  agreeable, 
but  more  blessed.  The  song  we  sing  to  cheer 
a  weary  spirit  echoes  back  new  cheer  into 
our  own  soul.  The  sacrifice  we  make  to 
help  one  in  distress  leaves  us  not  poorer,  but 
richer.  Love’s  stores  are  not  wasted  by  giv¬ 
ing — the  more  we  give,  the  more  we  have. 
The  way  to  grow  rich  in  the  treasures  of 
kindness  and  affection  is  to  show  kindness 


50 


Working  for  Christ :  Service. 


and  affection  to  all  who  need.  If  we  find 
our  spiritual  life  languishing,  its  resources 
growing  less,  the  true  way  to  refresh  it  is 
not  by  closer  economy  in  giving  out  to  others, 
but  by  greater  generosity. 

“  For  the  heart  grows  rich  in  giving : 

All  its  wealth  is  living  grain  ; 

Seeds  which  mildew  in  the  garner, 
Scattered,  fill  with  gold  the  plain. 

“  Is  the  heart  a  living  power? 

Self-entwined,  its  strength  sinks  low, 

It  can  only  live  in  loving  ; 

And  by  serving  love  will  grow.” 

In  every  living  church  there  are  various 
organized  forms  of  Christian  activity ;  in 
some  one  or  more  of  these  every  member 
should  be  engaged.  Let  the  young  Christian 
at  once  choose  the  particular  class  of  work 
in  which  he  decides  that  it  is  best  for  him  to 
engage,  and  promptly  identify  himself  with 
the  organization,  society  or  band  which  has 
in  view  the  special  work  he  has  selected. 
There  should  not  be  one  idle  Christian  in  any 
church.  One  of  the  most  withering  curses 
uttered  in  the  Scriptures  is  against  uselessness 
—against  those  who  come  not  up  to  the  help 
of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty. 

Thus  Christian  work  is  not  only  a  duty, 
but  a  means  of  grace.  It  is  not  the  rest  of 
inaction  to  which  Christ  calls  us,  but  the  rest 


In  His  Steps. 


of  loving  service.  Every  power  of  our  being 
we  should  give  to  him  to  be  used.  Every 
gift  we  possess  should  be  employed  in  doing 
good.  That  day  is  a  lost  day  in  which  we  do 
nothing  to  bless  some  other  life  in  the  name 
of  Christ. 

“  Work  for  some  good,  be  it  ever  so  slowly  ; 

Cherish  some  flower,  be  it  ever  so  lowly  : 

Labor  !  all  labor  is  noble  and  holy ; 

Let  thy  good  deeds  be  a  prayer  to  thy  God.” 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Helps:  Personal  Prayer. 

WE  all  need  helps  in  our  Christian  life. 

Of  course,  all  the  help  we  require  we 
can  find  in  God.  His  is  the  almighty  arm 
on  which  we  should  ever  lean  in  our  weak¬ 
ness  ;  his  is  the  infinite  life  from  whose  full¬ 
ness  we  should  ever  draw  for  the  refilling  of 
our  own  exhausted  life-pitchers  ;  his  is  the 
light  that  should  ever  shine  upon  our  dark¬ 
ness  for  cheer,  for  comfort,  for  guidance,  for 
joy.  God  is  all  we  need. 

But  we  cannot  see  God  with  these  mortal 
eyes ;  we  cannot  feel  his  bosom  when  we 
need  to  lean  upon  it ;  we  cannot  hear  his 
voice  when  we  listen  for  the  word  he  may 
have  to  speak  ;  we  cannot  carry  our  empty 
pitchers  up  to  heaven,  where  God  dwells,  to 
have  them  refilled.  We  are  like  vines  torn 
off  the  trellis  and  trailing  on  the  ground 
amid  the  dust  and  the  weeds,  and  we  cannot 
lift  ourselves  up  to  twine  about  the  unseen 
supports  which  God’s  grace  provides.  We 
need  something  to  help  our  dull  senses — 

53 


In  His  Steps. 


something  we  can  see  or  hear  or  touch ; 
something  to  interpret  to  our  souls  and  bring 
near  to  them  the  spiritual  things  of  divine 
love;  something  to  which  the  tendrils  of  our 
life  can  cling,  and  which  will  lift  them  up 
and  fasten  them  on  the  invisible  realities  of 
the  spiritual  world.  And  in  loving  mercy, 
in  condescension  to  our  weakness  and  spirit¬ 
ual  dullness,  God  has  provided  for  us  such 
helps  as  we  need.  He  brings  us  his  bless¬ 
ings  in  ways  that  are  adapted  to  our  earthly 
state  and  capacity.  He  puts  the  rich  sup¬ 
plies  of  his  heavenly  grace  in  cups  from 
which  we  can  drink,  and  sets  them  low 
down  where  we  can  reach  them. 

One  of  the  helps  which  God  has  provided 
is  prayer.  Without  prayer  no  Christian  life 
can  exist.  There  are  other  spiritual  helps 
from  the  want  of  which  we  may  suffer,  but 
without  which  we  may  still  live  near  to  God  ; 
but  to  give  up  prayer  is  to  die. 

Why  should  we  pray  ?  Because  God  is 
our  Father  and  we  are  his  children.  It  would 
be  a  most  undutiful,  unfilial,  ungrateful  child 
who  should  live  in  a  good  and  beautiful 
home,  enjoying  its  comforts,  blessed  by  its 
love,  and  who  should  never  have  anything  to 
say  to  the  father  whose  heart  and  hand  make 
the  home,  and  who  provides  its  comforts  and 
pleasures. 

We  should  pray,  also,  because  we  need 

54 


Helps:  Personal  Prayer. 


things  which  we  can  get  only  by  prayer. 
Some  things  we  can  pick  up  with  our  hands 
in  this  good  world  of  our  Father’s,  or  buy 
with  our  money,  or  receive  through  our 
friends  ;  but  there  are  things  which  we  can 
get  only  directly  from  God  himself,  and  only 
bv  asking  him  for  them.  He  alone  can  for- 
give  our  sins;  and  unless  we  are  forgiven, 
life  is  not  worth  living.  He  alone  can  give 
us  a  new  heart ;  and  unless  we  have  a  new 
heart,  we  can  never  enter  heaven.  He  alone 
Can  give  us  grace  to  live  a  good  and  holy  life 
and  keep  us  from  sinking  back  into  sin.  He 
alone  can  help  us  to  fight  life’s  battles  and 
come  out  victorious  at  the  end.  He  alone 
can  lead  us  through  death’s  valley  to  glory. 
Indeed,  we  can  do  nothing  without  God. 
The  leaf  quivering  on  the  bough  is  not  more 
dependent  upon  the  tree  for  its  greenness  and 
life  than  are  we  dependent  upon  God  for 
our  very  existence  and  for  all  blessings. 
We  must  pray  or  perish. 

But  may  we  pray  ?  We  look  up,  and  we 
see  no  face  in  the  heavens,  no  eye  gazing 
down — nothing  but  sky  and  clouds  or  stars. 
We  speak  and  then  listen,  but  no  answer 
comes  to  us :  all  is  silence  about  us.  Is 
there  really  any  one  to  hear  ?  Or  if  there  is, 
will  he  hear  ? 

There  are  millions  of  people  on  the  earth, 
and  there  are  millions  of  other  worlds  besides 


55 


In  His  Steps. 


this.  Astronomers  tell  us  that  our  globe,  if  it 
were  suddenly  destroyed,  would  not  be  more 
missed  in  God’s  vast  universe  than  one  leaf 
which  you  might  pluck  off  a  wayside  bush 
would  be  missed  from  all  the  leaves  on  all 
the  trees  and  forests  of  the  earth.  It  may  be 
that,  like  our  planet,  these  other  countless 
worlds  have  their  millions  of  inhabitants. 
Will  God  hear  the  cry  of  one  person  among 
so  many  ?  Does  he  take  notice  of  indi¬ 
viduals  ?  Does  he  have  particular  thought 
and  care  for  each  one  ? 

The  Bible  plainly  answers  these  questions. 
It  tells  us  that  God  is  our  Father  ;  that  he 
loves  us,  not  merely  as  a  race,  but  as  indi¬ 
viduals — loves  us  each  one  with  a  peculiar 
personal  affection,  as  a  human  father  loves 
each  one  of  his  children  though  he  have 
many  ;  that  he  thinks  of  us,  giving  to  the 
smallest,  humblest  of  us  particular  thought 
and  care,  watching  over  us,  listening  for  our 
cry,  ready  always  at  any  moment  to  give  the 
help  we  need  and  seek. 

A  little  child  fancied  that  when  she  began 
to  pray,  God  asked  all  the  angels  to  stop 
singing  and  playing  on  their  harps  while  he 
listened  to  her  prayer  until  she  said  “Amen  !  ” 
She  was  not  far  wrong  in  her  fancy.  God 
does  not  need  to  hush  the  angels’  songs  to 
hear  a  child’s  prayer ;  but  he  hears  it,  never¬ 
theless,  amid  all  the  noises  of  this  great 

56 


Helps :  Personal  Prayer. 

universe,  just  as  truly  and  clearly  as  if  every 
other  voice  were  hushed. 

One  of  the  psalms  represents  God  as  in¬ 
clining  his  ear  to  the  suppliant  on  the  earth 
to  hear  his  cry,  as  a  man  bends  down  so  as 
to  bring  his  ear  close  to  one  who  speaks,  that 
he  may  catch  every  word.  In  another  psalm 
are  these  remarkable  words :  “  He  hath, 

looked  down  from  the  height  of  his  sanc¬ 
tuary  ;  from  heaven  did  the  Lord  behold  the 
earth  ;  to  hear  the  groaning  of  the  prisoner." 
The  Bible  is  full  of  just  such  human  repre¬ 
sentations  of  God’s  interest  in  his  children  on 
the  earth,  and  of  his  loving  attention  when 
they  cry  to  him.  We  may  pray,  therefore : 
there  is  One  to  hear  us. 

How  shall  we  pray  so  as  to  be  heard  and 
to  receive  help?  For  one  thing,  there  must 
be  real  desire  in  our  hearts.  Forms  of 
words  do  not  make  prayer :  we  must  want 
something,  and  must  realize  our  dependence 
upon  God  for  it.  Then  we  must  come  to  him 
as  his  children.  It  was  Christ  himself  who 
taught  us  to  pray  to  “  Our  Father  which  art 
in  heaven.”  If  we  have  the  true  child-spirit 
which  the  using  of  this  invocation  implies, 
we  shall  make  our  requests  with  confidence, 
believing  that  our  Father  loves  us  and  will 
deny  us  nothing  that  is  for  our  good. 

Of  course,  we  must  remember  that  God 
knows  better  than  we  do  what  is  best  for  us, 


57 


In  His  Steps. 


and  we  must  be  willing,  even  when  our 
desires  are  strongest  and  most  impetuous,  to 
say,  “Nevertheless  not  my  will,  but  thine, 
be  done.”  We  must  let  our  Father  decide 
whether  the  thing  we  ask  is  the  thing  we 
need.  The  thing  we  want  might  be  poison 
to  our  life ;  if  so,  God  will  not  give  it  to  us, 
but,  instead,  will  give  us  grace  to  do  without 
Jt,  which  is  an  answer  to  our  desire,  and  a  far 
better  answer  than  the  thing  we  sought. 

Prayer  should  also  be  earnest.  Two  of 
our  Lord’s  parables  were  spoken  to  impress 
this  duty.  If  an  unjust  judge  could  be  so 
moved  by  importunity,  how  much  more  will 
the  loving  heart  of  the  heavenly  Father  yield 
to  repeated  supplication  !  The  man  at  whose 
door  the  friend  knocked  at  midnight  gave 
the  loaves,  not  because  it  was  his  friend  who 
asked  them,  but  because  the  friend  would  not 
go  away  without  them.  God  is  not  moved 
by  such  low  motives,  but  the  parable  is  meant 
to  show  the  power  of  persevering  importunity 
in  prayer.  God  wants  to  see  his  children 
in  earnest;  he  loves  to  hear  from  suppliants 
the  burning  words  which  tell  of  intense 
desire.  One  fervent,  impassioned  “  I  will 
not  let  thee  go,  except  thou  bless  me”  has 
more  power  with  God  than  whole  years  of 
cold,  heartless,  formal  prayer. 

Of  course,  importunity  must  not  become 
rebelliousness :  in  the  greatest  intensity  of 

58 


Helps :  Personal  Prayer. 


our  praying  we  must  ever  be  ready  to 
acquiesce  in  God’s  will.  Importunity  has 
its  limits.  It  may  at  length  become  evident 
that  God  does  not  want  to  give  us  what  we 
desire ;  then  we  should  cease  to  plead,  with 
submissive  faith  accepting  our  Father’s  re¬ 
fusal.  Thus  our  Lord  himself  in  the  garden 
was  importunate,  but  from  first  to  last  he 
deferred  all  to  his  Father’s  will;  and  after 
having  prayed  three  times  he  ceased  to 
plead,  taking  the  cup  held  out  to  him.  Paul 
was  importunate  in  pleading  for  the  removal 
of  the  thorn  which  so  troubled  him,  but,  like 
his  Master,  he  also  was  acquiescent ;  and 
after  pleading  three  times  he  too  ceased  to 
urge  his  plea. 

There  is  little  danger  that  we  ever  too 
earnestly  or  importunately  press  our  desires 
for  spiritual  good,  either  for  ourselves  or  for 
others.  We  know  it  is  always  God’s  will  to 
give  us  more  grace,  to  make  us  holier  and 
purer,  to  bring  out  in  us  more  clearly  the 
features  of  the  divine  image,  to  give  us  more 
of  his  Holy  Spirit :  these  are  always  bless¬ 
ings  ;  but  in  prayer  for  temporal  things  it  is 
safer  and  wiser  to  ask  humbly  and  with  diffi¬ 
dence,  laying  our  desires  at  God’s  feet,  with¬ 
out  anxious  pressure,  without  too  much 
urgency,  trustfully  submitting  all  to  his  un¬ 
erring  wisdom. 

The  true  aim  in  living  is  not  to  grow  rich, 

59 


In  His  Steps. 


to  be  clothed  in  earthly  honor,  to  have  mere 
worldly  happiness  and  freedom  from  suffer¬ 
ing  and  loss,  but  rather  to  grow  rich  in 
spiritual  graces,  to  be  made  more  and  more 
like  Christ  and  to  live  out  God’s  purpose  and 
plan  for  our  life.  By  far  the  noblest  thing 
for  us  always  is  God’s  will.  That  means 
perfect  beauty  and  perfect  good.  Anything 
else  is  marring  and  blemish. 

When  shall  we  pray  ?  When  the  spirit  of 
prayer  is  in  the  heart,  there  is  little  need  to 
say  just  how  or  when  prayer  should  be 
offered.  Still,  there  must  be  habits.  Merely 
to  trust  to  the  feeling  or  desire,  and  to  have 
no  fixed  time  for  devotion,  praying  only 
when  the  heart  prompts,  is  not  safe.  The 
end  would  be  a  prayerless  life.  The  lamps 
in  the  temple  burned  continually,  but  they 
were  trimmed  and  refilled  every  day.  The 
flame  of  devotion  in  a  Christian  heart  should 
never  go  out,  but  this  lamp  too  must  be  re¬ 
plenished  continually. 

Certainly,  there  should  be  a  season  of 
secret  prayer  at  the  opening,  and  again  at  the 
close,  of  every  day.  “  In  the  morning  it 
seems  a  hem  and  border  to  each  day’s  life, 
and  in  the  evening  it  brings  down  the  dew  on 
the  spirit,  to  wash  off  the  stain  and  dust,  and 
to  feed  and  refresh.”  In  the  morning  the 
day  lies  before  us  with  its  unforeseen  and 
untried  experiences.  It  may  bring  painful 

6<? 


Helps :  Personal  Prayer. 


duty,  sore  struggle,  hard  task,  keen  suffering, 
sharp  temptation,  or  perhaps  death.  How 
can  we  go  out  into  the  opening  day  which 
may  have  such  experiences  for  us,  without 
seeking  the  guidance  and  help  of  God  ?  In 
the  evening  we  bring  the  day’s  history  for 
review.  There  are  sins  to  be  forgiven  ;  there 
is  work  to  be  blessed  ;  there  are  thanks  to  be 
spoken  for  mercies  ;  there  is  weariness  to  be 
refreshed  ;  there  is  hunger  to  be  fed.  Then, 
as  we  go  into  the  darkness  and  defenseless¬ 
ness  of  the  night,  there  is  protection  to  be 
invoked,  and  new  life  for  a  new  day. 

We  need  to  watch  always  that  our  prayers 
are  real,  fresh  from  our  heart,  and  that  they 
never  degenerate  into  mere  formalities,  words 
without  desires,  petitions  without  wishes  and 
without  faith.  True  prayer  is  talking  to  God 
as  one  talks  to  a  friend ;  mere  words  are 
empty  mockeries.  We  pray  best  in  secret 
when  we  tell  out  our  soul’s  deepest  wants  in 
the  simplest  phrases.  As  we  grow  in  Chris¬ 
tian  life  prayer  becomes  more  and  more  real 
to  us. 

Dr.  Phelps  says,  “  Three  stages  of  growth 
are  commonly  discernible  respecting  prayer 
in  the  Christian  consciousness.  They  are, 
prayer  as  a  resource  in  emergencies,  prayer 
as  a  habit  at  appointed  times,  and  prayer  as 
a  state  in  which  a  believer  lives  at  all  times.” 
In  this  last  and  highest  development,  stated 

61 


In  His  Steps. 


times  of  prayer  are  not  abandoned,  but  the 
heart  does  not  limit  itself  to  these  in  com¬ 
muning  with  God.  The  spirit  of  devotion 
overflows  the  fixed  hours  of  prayer  and  holds 
fellowship  with  God  continuously.  Even  the 
busiest  hours  of  work  are  brightened  by 
many  a  moment  of  heavenly  communion. 
This  is  what  is  meant  by  walking  with  God. 
Men  talk  to  him  while  at  their  work,  in  ejacu¬ 
lations  of  prayer. 

Thomas  a  Kempis  says,  “God  alone  is  a 
thousand  companions  ;  he  alone  is  a  world 
of  friends.  That  man  never  knew  what  it 
was  to  be  familiar  with  God,  who  complains 
of  the  want  of  friends  while  God  is  with  him.” 
It  is  this  state  of  constant  and  unbroken 
communion  with  God  toward  which  we  should 
all  strive. 

Let  the  life  of  the  closet  flow  out  into  all 
the  busy  hours  of  the  busiest  days.  It  will 
be  a  defense  for  us  amid  temptations.  It  will 
give  us  power  in  Christian  service.  It  will 
hallow  all  our  influence.  It  will  make  holy 
and  pure  every  nook  and  cranny  of  our  life. 
It  will  give  us  peace  in  the  midst  of  dangers. 
It  will  hold  us  apart  from  the  world  and  near 
to  God  wherever  we  go.  Like  the  beloved 
disciple,  our  habitual  place  will  then  be  on 
the  bosom  of  Jesus,  and  our  earthly  spirit  will 
become  filled  with  the  brightness  and  the 
sweetness  of  his  love. 


62 


Helps :  Personal  Prayer. 


Thus  prayer  is  indeed  the  Christian’s  very 
vital  breath.  To  cease  to  pray  is  to  cease  to 
live.  The  gate  of  prayer  is  never  shut.  We 
should  keep  the  path  to  it  well  trodden.  We 
can  there  find  help  in  all  weakness,  light  in 
all  darkness,  comfort  in  all  sorrow,  compan¬ 
ionship  in  all  loneliness,  friendship  in  all 
heart  hunger.  If  we  know  how  to  get  help 
in  prayer,  we  need  never  fail  at  any  point  in 
life ;  for  then  all  God’s  might  of  love  is  ever 
back  of  our  weakness,  as  the  great  ocean  is 
back  of  the  little  bay. 


03 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
Helps:  The  Bible. 


^NOTHER  indispensable  help  in  Christian 
life  is  the  Bible.  In  prayer,  we  talk  to 
God  ;  in  the  Bible,  God  speaks  to  us.  The 
first  disciples  heard  the  words  of  divine  truth 
as  they  dropped  directly  from  the  lips  of  the 
great  Teacher.  They  could  bring  their  ques¬ 
tions  right  to  him,  and  he  would  answer 
them.  They  could  ask  him  what  he  wanted 
them  to  do,  and  he  would  tell  them.  When 
they  were  in  sorrow,  the  words  of  comfort 
fell,  warm  and  tender,  from  the  very  lips  of 
the  Son  of  God  into  their  sad  hearts.  One 
of  his  friends  sat  at  his  feet  and  listened 
reverently  and  lovingly  to  his  instructions ; 
another  leaned  his  head  on  the  Lord’s  bosom 
and  whispered  his  confidential  questions  and 
received  answers  ;  an  inquirer  came  by  night 
to  him  and  had  a  long  talk  with  him  about 
the  way  to  be  saved. 

Those  were  wonderful  days  when  God 
himself  was  on  this  earth  in  human  form, 
speaking  in  the  tones  of  actual  human  speech 


A 

Jk- 


Helps :  The  Bible. 


the  words  of  life,  and  answering  men’s  ques¬ 
tions  with  his  own  lips.  We  cannot  any¬ 
more  hear  the  divine  voice  as  men  heard  it 
then.  Yet  God  still  speaks.  We  can  still 
bring  our  questions,  and  he  will  answer  them. 
We  can  still  sit  at  the  Teacher’s  feet  and  hear 
his  words.  We  can  still  rest  our  head  on 
his  bosom  in  our  sorrow  and  listen  to  his 
assurances  of  love.  We  can  still  ask  him 
how  to  be  saved,  and  get  a  plain,  clear 
answer.  God  speaks  to  men  in  his  written 
word. 

The  question  is  how  to  get  help  from  the 
Bible.  We  know  the  help  is  there.  Others 
find  it,  and  we  see  their  face  glow  or  the  tears 
glisten  in  their  eyes  as  they  read  its  pages. 
But  somehow  it  does  not  open  to  us  as  it  does 
to  others.  We  cannot  say,  “  Oh  how  love  I 
thy  law  !  it  is  my  meditation  all  the  day.” 
We  try  to  make  ourselves  love  the  Bible  and 
to  find  its  words  sweeter  than  honey  and 
more  precious  than  gold  ;  but,  to  be  perfectly 
honest,  we  do  not  love  it,  nor  do  we  find  in 
it  either  the  honey  or  the  gold.  Yet  we  know 
that  the  sweetness  and  the  richness  are  there 
if  only  we  could  find  them.  How  may  we 
read  the  book  so  that  it  will  open  to  us 
and  show  us  its  wondrous  treasures  of  light, 
of  love,  of  comfort,  and  of  help  ? 

For  one  thing,  we  must  rid  ourselves  of 
all  superstitious  notions  about  the  Bible.  It 

5  65 


In  His  Steps. 


is  not  a  talisman.  Merely  having  a  Bible  in 
one’s  possession  or  on  one’s  person  will 
neither  drive  away  evil  nor  bring  good. 
Soldiers  entering  battle  sometimes  throw 
away  their  cards  and  put  their  Bible  into 
their  pocket :  they  imagine  that  then  they 
will  be  safer  in  danger ;  but  a  Bible  in  a 
soldier’s  pocket  is  in  itself  no  more  protec¬ 
tion  than  a  pack  of  cards.  Nor,  if  he  has  it 
in  his  pocket  only,  will  it  be  of  any  more  use 
to  him  if  he  is  killed  in  battle.  The  mere 
owning  of  a  Bible  or  having  one  in  the  house 
does  no  one  any  good.  It  would  be  just  as 
well  to  wear  a  crucifix  or  to  nail  a  horseshoe 
over  the  door.  We  must  get  clear  of  super¬ 
stitious  impressions  respecting  the  holy  word. 

We  must  remember,  also,  that  the  mere 
reading  of  a  certain  portion  of  the  Bible 
every  day  will  not  make  us  wise  unto  salva¬ 
tion,  nor  purify  our  heart,  nor  give  us  com¬ 
fort  in  sorrow,  nor  put  a  staff  into  our  hand 
to  help  us  along  life’s  rough,  steep  paths. 
The  Bible  does  not  yield  its  blessing  to  such 
reading. 

Then,  further,  it  is  not  enough  to  under¬ 
stand  the  words,  or  even  to  memorize  them. 
There  are  many  people  who  have  many 
Bible  texts  at  their  tongue's  end  who  never 
get  any  real  help  from  them,  nor  make  any 
practical  use  of  them.  There  are  those  who 
know  the  promises  and  can  quote  them  to 

66 


Helps:  The  Bible. 


others,  who  are  not  able  to  apply  one  suitable 
promise  to  their  own  personal  needs,  and 
who  get  no  benefit  for  their  own  lives  from 
the  texts  they  remember.  Hiding  the  Bible 
in  the  memory  is  not  all  that  is  necessary  to 
make  its  treasures  of  help  availing. 

Just  what  is  the  office  of  the  Bible  with 
reference  to  our  personal  life  ?  There  are 
books  which  it  is  necessary  merely  to  read : 
they  have  no  office  or  errand  to  us  beyond 
the  pleasure  or  instruction  which  their  pages 
may  impart  as  we  go  over  them.  We  listen 
to  a  lecture  on  astronomy,  and  we  hear  many 
interesting  things  about  the  sun,  the  planets, 
or  the  stars.  We  believe  what  we  hear,  and 
we  may  remember  the  facts ;  but  it  is  not 
expected  that  the  knowledge  of  these  scien¬ 
tific  facts  will  make  any  change  in  our  con¬ 
duct  or  character  to-morrow.  If  we  are  in 
trouble,  these  truths  will  not  comfort  us. 
We  cannot  pillow  our  heads  upon  them  in 
sorrow.  If  we  are  perplexed  about  duty,  we 
shall  not  get  any  light  from  them, — the  stars 
are  too  far  away  and  too  cold.  The  same  is 
true  of  all  similar  knowledge ;  our  whole 
duty  with  regard  to  it  is  to  receive  it  and  to 
lay  it  up  among  our  mental  treasures. 

But  there  is  more  than  this  to  be  done  with 
the  truths  of  the  Bible.  They  are  the  words 
of  God,  and  as  such  they  are  meant  to  be 
obeyed.  They  reveal  to  us  invisible  things 

67 


In  His  Steps. 


— things  which  no  natural  human  eye  can 
ever  see — and  we  are  to  believe  in  these  un¬ 
seen  things  as  eternal  realities  and  to  live 
with  reference  to  them.  Every  truth  in  the 
Bible  has  a  practical  bearing  upon  life  in 
some  of  its  phases.  The  Bible  is  therefore  a 
book  for  life,  not  merely  for  knowledge. 

An  illustration  or  two  will  make  this  plain. 
The  first  word  that  comes  to  the  inquirer  is, 
“Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved.”  It  is  not  enough  to  know — 
even  to  understand — this  word.  It  calls  for 
an  act — the  committing  of  the  soul,  utterly 
and  forever,  for  salvation,  for  life,  for  glory, 
into  the  hands  of  the  only  Redeemer  and 
Saviour. — “Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart.”  It  is  easy  to  memorize 
these  words,  but  that  is  not  all  we  are  ex¬ 
pected  to  do  with  them.  They  have  their 
proper  outcome  only  when  they  draw  out  our 
heart’s  holiest  affections  and  fasten  them 
upon  God  in  loyal,  consecrating  devotion. — 
“  This  is  my  commandment,  That  ye  love  one 
another.”  The  sentiment,  men  say,  is  admi¬ 
rable.  It  is  extolled  by  many  on  whose 
heart  and  life  it  makes  no  impression  what¬ 
ever.  No  doubt  the  "sentiment”  is  very 
beautiful,  but  its  true  office  is  intensely  prac¬ 
tical — to  kindle  in  every  Christian  heart  a 
deep,  generous,  unselfish  affection  which 


68 


Helps :  The  Bible. 


shall  bind  and  hold  together  all  believers  in 
a  common  and  holy  brotherhood. 

To  make  proper  use  of  such  words  as  these 
we  must  not  only  understand  them  and 
admire  them  as  ethical  teachings,  but  must 
also  submit  our  life  to  them,  to  be  in- 
fluenced,  moulded,  colored,  and  directed,  by 
their  requirements — that  is,  we  are  to  receive 
them  as  God’s  words  of  command  to  us  and 
obey  them  accordingly.  We  are  using  the 
precepts  and  counsels  of  the  Scriptures  aright 
only  when  we  are  implicitly,  unquestioningly, 
and  loyally,  walking  in  the  way  they  mark 
out  for  our  feet. 

The  true  outcome  of  the  Bible  as  a  book 
of  commands  is  a  holy  personal  life  and  a 
Christlike  personal  character.  The  way, 
then,  to  get  help  from  the  book  is  to  come  to 
it  as  to  Christ  himself,  asking  what  he  would 
have  us  to  do,  and  then,  as  we  read,  submit¬ 
ting  our  life  to  every  word’s  impact  and 
influence.  Thus  the  Bible  will  become  to  us 
a  personal  guide — the  voice  of  Christ,  ever 
saying,  “This  is  the  way;”  the  hand  of 
Christ,  ever  leading  us  in  right  paths. 

There  is  another  class  of  Bible  words — the 
promises.  These  do  not  so  much  call  for 
active  obedience  as  for  implicit  belief  and 
restful  trust.  They  contain  assurances  of 
divine  help  and  blessing  in  certain  circum¬ 
stances.  They  tell  us  of  things  which  we 

69 


In  His  Steps. 


cannot  see.  Thus  they  call  for  the  exercise 
of  faith,  and  therefore  it  is  not  easy  to  make 
them  available.  Many  who  are  faithful  in 
performing  every  required  duty  fail  to  get 
such  help  from  God’s  promises  in  the  hours 
of  darkness  as  these  promises  are  intended 
to  give. 

How  can  Bible  promises  be  made  available 
in  times  of  need  ?  How  can  we  get  from 
them  that  help  which  they  are  intended  to 
give  us  in  living  ?  We  must  recognize  and 
accept  them  as  the  sure  and  faithful  words  of 
God — words  that  will  be  fulfilled  to  the  letter 
in  the  experience  of  every  child  of  God  who 
rests  upon  them.  They  must  be  hidden  in 
the  heart  and  kept  always  ready  for  instant 
use.  Then,  when  the  need  comes  for  which 
these  promises  make  provision,  they  must  be 
personally  appropriated  and  trusted  in  as 
God’s  fresh  and  explicit  words  of  assurance 
to  his  loved  ones. 

It  is,  in  fact,  only  in  the  experiences  of  real 
need  that  the  value  of  the  divine  promises 
can  be  realized.  One  may  greatly  admire  a 
lifeboat  as  he  looks  at  it  hanging  in  its  place 
above  the  ship’s  deck  on  a  fair  morning,  but 
its  true  worth  he  does  not  know  until  the  ship 
is  going  down  and  the  lifeboat  is  his  only 
hope  of  rescue.  It  is  so  with  Bible  promises. 
We  do  not  know  their  worth  until  we  enter 
upon  the  experiences  in  which  we  are  help- 

70 


Helps :  The  Bible. 


less  without  them.  We  may  admire  them 
when  all  is  fair  and  calm  about  us,  but  it  is 
only  when  the  shock  of  the  tempest  is  on  us 
and  our  earthly  trusts  are  shattered  that  we 
can  realize  the  value  of  the  trusts  which  have 
God’s  arm  underneath  them.  It  is  only 
when  our  path  leads  down  into  some  dark 
gorge  of  trial  where  no  earthly  sunbeams  fall 
that  we  learn  the  worth  of  the  lamps  of 
heavenly  promise. 

Thus  the  Bible  is  a  book  for  life,  and  only 
when  we  submit  our  life  to  it  can  we  get  its 
help.  The  hungry  heart  will  always  find 
the  bread.  The  sincere  and  simple-hearted 
seeker  after  truth  will  always  find  the  truth. 
The  submissive  spirit  will  receive  guidance. 
The  believing  soul  will  find  the  arm  of  the 
Eternal  under  every  word  of  promise. 

As  to  the  manner  of  reading  the  Bible,  but 
few  suggestions  may  here  be  given.  The 
heart  is  the  great  matter :  if  the  heart  be 
right,  God’s  Spirit  will  guide,  and  will  not 
only  open  the  treasures  of  the  Scriptures  and 
reveal  their  sweetness,  but  will  also  open  the 
reader’s  eyes  to  behold  the  wondrous  things 
that  the  sacred  book  contains. 

The  Bible  should  certainly  be  read  every 
day ;  our  soul  as  well  as  our  body  needs 
daily  bread.  It  should  be  read,  too,  in  con¬ 
nection  with  secret  prayer :  the  two  exercises 
mutually  help  each  other.  Devotion  without 

71 


In  His  Steps. 


the  word  to  feed  upon  is  inadequate  for  our 
soul’s  needs,  and  without  prayer  the  Bible 
does  not  open  to  us  nor  yield  the  blessing 
we  seek.  We  should  always  keep  the  Bible 
lying  open  on  the  closet  table. 

With  regard  to  the  method,  the  Bible  may 
be  read  in  course,  or  read  by  books,  or  read 
by  topics,  or  read  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
day,  or  read  fragmentarily  without  order  or 
plan.  Some  persons  read  the  Bible  through 
every  year.  Too  many  read  without  system 
or  method  of  any  kind,  beginning  wherever 
the  book  opens  ;  and  as  a  result  they  read 
certain  portions  many  times  over,  but  leave 
whole  sections  unread  and  unexplored. 
Every  intelligent  Christian  should  seek  to 
become  familiar  with  all  parts  of  the  Bible, 
and  therefore  it  is  well  to  read  it  through 
regularly  in  order. 

Besides  this,  however,  it  is  well  to  read 
also  by  topics,  searching  the  volume  through 
with  concordance  and  text  book,  to  know 
what  the  Holy  Spirit  teaches  on  all  phases 
of  a  particular  subject.  It  is  profitable,  too, 
to  read  single  books,  if  possible  at  one  sit¬ 
ting.  This  is  especially  helpful  to  the  under¬ 
standing  of  the  Epistles.  As  experience 
ripens  and  the  book  becomes  more  familiar, 
it  is  pleasant  and  helpful  to  turn  each  day  to 
passages  that  meet  the  peculiar  needs  of  the 
day.  Young  Christians  will  usually  find  it 

72 


Helps :  The  Bible. 


profitable  to  begin  with  the  story  of  Christ  in 
the  Gospels,  studying  the  life  and  words  of 
the  Master  until  their  hearts  are  filled  with 
thoughts  and  memories  of  him  whose  life  is 
their  pattern  and  whose  words  are  to  guide 
their  steps. 

The  system  of  international  Sabbath-school 
lessons  affords  an  excellent  opportunity  for 
thorough  and  consecutive  Bible  study.  In 
seven  years  the  student  is  carried  through 
the  whole  book.  Of  course  many  parts  of 
it  are  not  taken  up  in  the  lessons  ;  but  if  the 
portions  thus  omitted  between  the  Sabbath 
sections  are  carefully  read  each  week,  the 
entire  Bible  will  be  gone  over  in  the  seven 
years.  The  daily  “home  readings”  indi¬ 
cated  in  connection  with  the  lessons  form  in 
themselves  an  excellent  Bible-reading  course 
covering  every  day  in  the  year.  For  most 
young  people  there  is  perhaps  no  better 
system  of  Scripture  study  than  that  which 
follows  the  order  of  the  Sabbath-school 
course — the  lessons,  the  home  readings,  the 
connecting  portions,  and  the  references.  If 
this  is  closely  and  conscientiously  followed, 
day  after  day  and  year  after  year,  it  will  in 
the  end  yield  a  full,  intelligent  and  systematic 
knowledge  of  the  word  that  makes  wise  unto 
salvation. 

But,  in  whatever  order  the  Bible  may  be 
read,  let  it  surely  be  read.  There  are  now  so 


In  His  Steps. 


many  commentaries  and  other  writings  upon 
the  Scriptures  that  we  are  in  danger  of  read¬ 
ing  a  great  deal  about  the  Bible,  while  the 
book  itself  is  neglected.  It  is  important  that 
we  search  the  Scriptures  themselves.  Then 
each  one  should  search  for  himself.  It  is 
not  enough  to  take  the  golden  findings  that 
another  has  dug  out:  we  must  dig  for 
ourselves. 

Above  all,  we  must  pray  for  light  while  we 
read,  that  we  may  discover  the  precious  things 
which  God  has  stored  away  in  his  word ;  and 
we  must  pray  for  submission,  that  we  may 
be  able  to  yield  our  life  to  every  influence 
of  the  truth  ;  and  we  must  pray  for  faith,  that 
we  may  be  able  to  realize  the  invisible  things 
of  God  which  the  holy  word  reveals,  and  get 
thei*  support  and  their  blessing  for  our  soul. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


Helps  :  the  Church  and  its  Services. 

RESIDES  the  help  received  in  private  de¬ 
votion,  every  young  Christian  needs  the 
aid  which  the  public  services  of  the  church 
are  designed  to  afford.  We  were  not  made 
to  live  alone.  We  lean  upon  and  cling  to 
each  other  “  like  trailing  flowers  that  grow  by 
interlacing.”  The  necessities  of  our  being 
require  companionship.  Mind  grows  and 
develops  best  in  contact  with  other  minds. 
One  log  will  not  burn  alone.  In  a  sense  God 
himself  is  all  we  need,  and  in  communion 
with  him  every  want  of  our  soul  is  met : 

“  Yea,  through  life,  through  death,  through  sorrow 
and  through  sinning, 

He  shall  suffice  me,  for  he  hath  sufficed.” 

Yet  the  glory  is  so  great,  the  splendor  is  so 
dazzling,  that  we  need  human  hands  to  bring 
the  divine  blessing  down  to  us.  Besides,  the 
heart  does  not  rise  to  its  highest  fervor  in  the 
solitude  of  the  closet.  Our  warmest  feelings 
of  devotion  are  drawn  out  when  we  unite 

75 


In  His  Steps. 


with  others  in  associated  service.  The  con¬ 
sciousness  that  a  whole  congregation  of  wor¬ 
shipers  about  us  is  moved  by  the  same 
emotion  that  we  experience,  whether  it  be 
gratitude,  confession  of  sin,  or  prayer  for 
mercy,  deepens  the  emotion  in  us. 

Then  there  are  special  promises  to  those 
who  unite  in  the  services  of  God’s  worship. 
In  times  of  great  defection  particular  mention 
was  made  by  the  prophet  of  those  “  who 
feared  the  Lord  and  spake  often  one  to 
another.”  It  was  said  that  ‘‘the  Lord  heark¬ 
ened,  and  heard  it,  and  a  book  of  remem¬ 
brance  was  written  before  him.”  Jesus  gave 
a  special  promise  of  answer  to  prayer  when 
his  people  shall  agree  in  asking,  implying 
that,  as  added  strands  make  the  cable 
stronger,  so  added  hearts  make  the  supplica¬ 
tion  more  availing.  He  also  gave  a  definite 
promise  of  his  own  presence  where  even  two 
or  three  of  his  disciples  shall  meet  together 
in  his  name. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  there  are  blessings 
which  we  can  obtain  in  the  public  worship, 
where  many  hearts  mingle  their  homage  and 
their  prayers,  which  we  cannot  find  in  secret. 
Private  devotion  is  indispensable  and  cannot 
be  replaced  by  the  public  services ;  yet,  in 
addition  to  all  the  aid  we  can  get  in  our 
religious  life  in  secret  prayer  and  Bible  read¬ 
ing,  we  need,  and  cannot  afford  to  neglect, 

76 


The  Church  and  its  Services. 

public  worship.  To  do  so  is  to  deprive  our¬ 
selves  of  one  of  the  greatest  helps  in  Chris¬ 
tian  life. 

We  can  better  understand  the  nature  of  the 
help  we  may  receive  from  the  church  services 
if  we  have  definite  conceptions  of  the  objects 
of  public  worship. 

One  object  is  to  honor  God  by  bringing  to 
him  our  heart’s  homage.  This  element  of 
worship  is  one  that  needs  to  be  strongly 
emphasized.  Many  persons  have  the  impres¬ 
sion  that  the  sermon  is  the  most  important — 
even  the  all-important — feature  of  the  service. 
Too  little  is  made  of  the  devotional  part. 
The  error  is  a  grave  one.  In  the  divine 
intention  the  primary  object  in  public  relig¬ 
ious  service  is  to  worship  God,  to  bring  to 
him  our  heart’s  love  and  adoration,  our  grati¬ 
tude  and  our  confession,  and  to  renew  before 
him  our  personal  consecration. 

Another  object  in  the  public  service  is 
instruction.  The  minister  has  been  trained 
to  be  an  expounder  of  the  word  of  God.  He 
has  spent  years  in  preparation  for  his  work. 
He  devotes  the  golden  hours  of  every  day  to 
special  study  and  thought,  so  as  to  be  able 
each  Sabbath  to  bring  to  his  people  and 
clearly  and  impressively  put  before  them 
some  important  truth  of  Holy  Scriptures. 
The  people  come  to  the  church  to  be  in¬ 
structed  in  things  concerning  God’s  character 


77 


In  His  Steps. 

and  will  and  concerning  their  own  needs  and 
duties. 

A  third  object  in  the  public  service  is  spir¬ 
itual  growth  and  culture.  We  learn  about 
God’s  character,  that  we  may  adore  and 
worship  him  more  fervently  ;  about  his  will, 
that  we  may  obey  him  more  implicitly ; 
about  his  promises,  that  we  may  trust  him 
more  confidently ;  about  our  duty,  that  we 
may  do  it  more  faithfully.  The  object  of 
worship,  also,  so  far  as  its  influence  upon 
ourselves  is  concerned,  is  the  spiritual  bless¬ 
ing  and  strength  that  come  from  communion 
with  God  and  the  opening  of  the  heart  in 
the  warmth  of  his  presence. 

These  public  services  are  designed,  there¬ 
fore,  and  adapted  to  impart  help  to  the 
sincere  worshiper.  No  one  can  spend  an 
hour  in  God’s  presence,  looking  up  into  his 
face  and  occupied  with  thoughts  of  him  to 
the  exclusion  of  worldly  thoughts,  and  not 
experience  a  cleansing  of  heart  and  a  kin¬ 
dling  of  soul  which  will  prove  a  great  enrich¬ 
ing  of  the  life.  All  that  is  good  in  us  receives 
quickening  and  new  impulse  in  such  an 
atmosphere  ;  all  that  is  evil  is  checked  and 
repressed. 

The  influence  of  fellowship  in  worship 
with  other  Christians  is  also  of  great  profit. 
We  are  lifted  up  on  the  tide  of  spiritual 
emotion.  Our  affections  are  purified.  The 

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The  Church  and  its  Services. 


bonds  of  Christian  love  are  strengthened. 
There  is  the  benefit,  also,  derived  from  the 
instruction  in  God’s  word  which  we  receive. 
Now  we  are  warned  against  some  danger ; 
now  some  sin  in  us  is  rebuked ;  now  it  is 
a  word  of  comfort  which  comes  to  cheer  us 
in  sorrow ;  now  it  is  a  new  thought  about 
God,  the  unveiling  to  us  of  an  attribute  in 
his  character,  which  draws  out  in  us  fresh 
adoration  and  love  ;  now  it  is  a  call  to  some 
neglected  duty. 

Besides  all  these  benefits,  there  is  the 
renewal  of  spiritual  strength  which  we  find 
in  the  house  of  God  :  “  They  that  wait  upon 
the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength.”  Life 
wastes  our  vigor.  Its  duties  and  struggles 
exhaust  us.  The  Sabbath  services  bring  us 
again  into  communion  with  God,  and  the 
emptied  pitchers  are  refilled.  No  one  can 
spend  an  hour  in  God’s  house  in  true  and 
sincere  worship  and  not  be  better  and 
stronger  for  it  for  many  days. 

How  to  get  from  the  church  services  the 
help  they  have  to  give  to  us  is  one  of  the 
most  important  practical  questions  in  Chris¬ 
tian  life. 

It  is  quite  possible  to  attend  these  services, 
even  with  commendable  regularity,  and  yet 
receive  but  little  spiritual  profit.  There  is 
no  holy  atmosphere  in  the  house  of  God  that 
is  necessarily  medicinal  or  tonic  to  our  soul. 


79 


In  His  Steps. 


There  is  no  filtration  of  grace  into  our  life 
that  goes  on  without  agency  of  our  own 
while  we  sit  with  shut  heart  in  our  soft  pew  in 
the  sanctuary  and  dream  through  a  service. 
Forms  of  worship,  whether  plain  or  elaborate, 
are  empty  without  the  sincere  homage  and 
faith  of  a  loving  heart.  They  carry  up  to 
God  just  what  we  put  into  them ;  they  bring 
to  us  from  God  just  what  with  prayer  and 
faith  we  draw  out  of  them. 

Two  persons  may  sit  side  by  side  and  take 
part  outwardly  in  the  exercises  of  devotion, 
yet  from  one  there  will  rise  to  God  pure 
incense  and  an  acceptable  offering,  and  from 
the  other  the  empty  mockery  of  a  heartless 
and  formal  service ;  the  one  worshiper  goes 
away  strengthened  and  blessed,  and  the 
other  carries  away  nothing  but  an  empty 
hand  and  a  cold,  unblest  heart.  Whatever 
the  forms  of  public  service  may  be,  the  heart 
must  be  truly  engaged  or  the  worship  will  be 
vain  and  unprofitable. 

To  make  this  chapter  as  helpful  as  possible 
to  young  Christians,  a  few  definite  practical 
suggestions  are  offered. 

To  begin  with,  thoughtful  preparation  for 
church  services  will  greatly  increase  their 
profitableness  to  those  who  engage  in  them. 
The  very  best  ordinary  preparation  is  a 
season  of  private  devotion  before  going  to 
the  house  of  God.  The  heart  is  thus  cleansed 


80 


The  Church  and  its  Services. 


of  its  worldly  thoughts,  is  opened  and  warmed 
toward  God,  and  is  in  a  suitable  condition  to 
enter  earnestly  and  reverently  into  the  acts 
of  public  worship. 

A  reverent  approach  toward  and  entrance 
into  God’s  house  are  further  aids  to  blessing 
in  the  services.  We  should  at  least  re¬ 
member  that  we  are  going  to  meet  God,  and 
should  know  and  consider  well  on  what 
errand  we  are  going — to  worship  him  and 
receive  help  for  our  own  life,  if  we  have  any 
real  errand  at  all — and  should  have  our 
expectations  aroused  in  anticipation  of  com¬ 
munion  with  God  and  his  people,  and  our 
heart  eager  with  desire  for  the  holy  meeting. 

Many  persons  enter  God’s  house  with  as 
little  thoughtfulness  and  seriousness  as  if  it 
were  a  concert  or  a  literary  entertainment 
they  had  come  to  hear.  Such  persons  are 
not  prepared  either  to  render  acceptable 
worship  or  to  receive  needed  help  in  the 
service.  We  shall  find  in  God’s  house  and 
in  his  ordinances  just  what  we  are  spiritually 
prepared  to  find.  God  must  be  in  the  heart, 
or  we  shall  not  see  God  in  the  exercises  of 
worship.  We  shall  never  find  in  the  sanc¬ 
tuary  that  which  we  do  not  seek  and  want  to 
find.  If  we  enter  careless  and  indifferent, 
with  no  spirit  of  devotion,  we  shall  carry 
away  no  blessing.  If  we  come  with  longing 
and  earnest  desire  to  meet  God  and  lay  our 
6  81 


In  His  Steps. 


burdens  at  his  feet,  to  rest  and  refresh  our* 
selves  in  his  presence,  and  to  receive  new 
strength  from  him  for  duty,  we  shall  find  all 
we  wish. 

Another  condition  of  help  is  earnest  per¬ 
sonal  interest  in  each  part  of  the  service. 
There  is  no  blessing  in  our  being  merely 
among  true  worshipers  and  in  the  presence 
of  God.  A  throng  was  close  about  Jesus  one 
day,  but  one  only  of  them  all  was  healed  ; 
she  was  healed  because  she  reached  out  her 
trembling  finger  and  in  faith  touched  the  hem 
of  Christ’s  garment.  The  multitude  thronged, 
but  only  one  touched  him.  This  history  may 
be  repeated  any  Sabbath  in  any  congrega¬ 
tion.  While  many  crowd  close  about  Christ, 
only  those  will  receive  blessing  who  touch 
the  hem  of  his  robe. 

Even  in  public  services  we  do  not  worship 
in  companies,  but  as  individuals.  One  sitting 
close  beside  us  mav  hold  delightful  coinmu- 
nion  with  God  and  receive  rich  spiritual 
refreshment,  while  our  heart  remains  like  a 
dry,  parched  field ;  in  the  midst  of  the 
showers,  yet  receiving  not  one  drop  of  rain 
from  the  full,  overhanging  clouds.  No  matter 
what  others  may  or  may  not  do  or  receive, 
our  business  in  God’s  house  is  personal. 
There  is  blessing  there  for  us  if  we  will  take 
it.  Suppose  the  minister  is  a  little  dull  and 
the  service  a  little  wearisome  ;  yet  is  not  God 

82 


The  Church  and  its  Services. 


present  ?  The  blessing  is  not  in  the  minister 
nor  in  the  service,  but  in  God  himself,  who  is 
ready  always  to  dispense  to  the  tired  and  the 
hungry  the  rest  and  the  bread  they  crave. 

Then,  after  the  service,  we  should  go  away 
thoughtfully  and  reverently  as  we  came. 
The  custom  which  prevails  in  some  churches 
of  lingering  a  moment  in  silent  prayer  after 
the  benediction  is  very  beautiful  and  impres¬ 
sive.  Let  the  last  minute  be  spent  looking 
into  God’s  face  for  a  parting  benediction. 

Church-aisle  sociability,  so  often  com¬ 
mended,  no  doubt  has  its  pleasant  side,  but 
it  certainly  has  its  disadvantages  and  its 
grave  dangers.  We  may  without  spiritual 
harm  greet  one  another  cordially  and  affec¬ 
tionately  in  quiet  tones  as  we  pass  out,  but 
too  often  the  conversation  runs  either  into 
criticism  of  the  preacher  and  the  sermon,  or 
off  on  trivial  and  worldly  themes.  The  con¬ 
sequence  is,  that  the  good  seed  sown  is 
picked  up  and  devoured  by  the  birds  before 
it  has  had  time  to  root.  We  would  better  go 
away,  quietly  pondering  the  great  thoughts 
which  the  service  has  suggested  to  us,  seek¬ 
ing  to  deepen  in  our  heart  the  impressions 
made  and  to  assimilate  in  our  life  the  truths 
of  God’s  word  which  have  fallen  upon  our 
ears. 

From  the  church  gate  back  again  to  the 
closet  whence  we  set  out  is  the  best  walk  to 

83 


In  His  Steps. 


take  after  the  service  has  closed.  A  few 
moments  of  secret  prayer  will  carry  the  bless¬ 
ings  of  the  sanctuary  so  deep  into  our  hearts 
that  thereafter  they  will  be  part  of  our  very 
life. 

A  special  word  may  fitly  be  spoken  of  the 
Lord’s  Supper  and  of  the  way  in  which  we 
can  get  help  from  it.  In  the  minds  of  many 
people  a  great  deal  of  unnecessary  mystery 
hangs  about  this  ordinance.  That  which  sets 
it  apart  from  other  services  is  that  it  is  a 
memorial  feast  appointed  by  Christ  himself, 
in  which  our  thought  and  faith  are  helped 
by  visible  elements  that  represent  to  us  the 
great  spiritual  facts  of  our  redemption. 

The  help  this  service  gives  is  not  different 
from  that  received  from  other  ordinances, 
unless  it  be  that  the  use  of  the  visible  sym¬ 
bols  brings  Christ  and  his  sacrificial  work 
more  vividly  before  our  dull  eyes  than  where 
words  only  are  used  to  picture  the  same 
truths.  In  this  sense  it  is  a  greater  aid  to 
faith  than  a  sermon  or  a  hymn  ;  but,  as  in  all 
worship,  so  in  the  communion,  the  blessing 
comes,  not  from  the  ordinance  itself,  but 
from  Christ. 

How,  then,  can  we  get  from  the  Lord’s 
Supper  the  help  it  has  to  give  ?  Only  by 
finding  the  way  to  Christ  and  submitting  our 
heart  to  the  tender  influences  of  his  love. 

The  Lord’s  Supper  is  a  memorial ;  we 

84 


The  Church  and  its  Services. 


should  remember  Christ  as  vve  come  to  his 
table.  It  is  a  memorial  especially  of  Christ’s 
sufferings  and  death  :  we  should  recall  his 
humiliation,  his  obedience,  his  agony,  his 
crucifixion,  and  think  of  the  love  that  led 
him  voluntarily  to  make  himself  an  offering 
for  sin.  But  memories  alone  will  not  bless 
us, — there  must  be  appropriating  faith. 
“Broken  for  you,"  said  the  Master;  “Broken 
for  me"  should  be  faith’s  answer. 

There  should  be  in  the  heart  of  the  sincere 
Christian  no  more  dread  in  going  to  the 
Lord’s  Supper  than  in  going  to  any  other 
service.  St.  Paul's  word  “ unworthily  ” — 
which  has  been  misunderstood  by  so  many 
— has  reference  entirely  to  the  manner  in 
which  persons  observe  the  ordinance,  not  to 
the  persons  themselves. 

The  Corinthians  to  whom  St.  Paul  was 
writing  made  it  a  common  feast,  with  revel¬ 
ing — even  with  drunkenness.  Of  course, 
any  one  who  would  observe  it  in  such  a  way, 
or  any  one  who  would  sit  at  the  table  without 
really  loving  Christ,  without  believing  on  him, 
without  truly  worshiping  him  and  submitting 
to  him,  or  who  would  act  irreverently  or 
with  levity,  would  be  “  guilty  of  the  body 
and  blood  of  the  Lord.”  But  in  the  apostle’s 
word  there  is  not  the  slightest  allusion  to 
those  who  feel  themselves  unworthy,  yet  who 
are  sincere  and  true  disciples  of  Christ.  A 

85 


In  His  Steps. 


sense  of  personal  unworthiness  is  part  of  all 
true  faith  in  Christ. 

“  Not  worthy,  Lord,  to  gather  up  the  crumbs 
With  trembling  hand  that  from  thy  table  fall, 

A  weary,  heavy-laden  sinner  comes 

To  plead  thy  promise  and  obey  thy  call.” 

If  the  heart  be  sincere,  if  the  trust  in  Christ 
be  true  though  trembling,  and  the  obedience 
loyal  though  imperfect,  we  have  the  same 
right  to  come  boldly  to  the  Lord’s  Table  as  to 
prayer  or  any  other  ordinance.  We  can  sin 
in  any  act  of  worship  by  formality,  by  insin¬ 
cerity,  by  levity,  by  want  of  heart,  and  we 
can  sin  in  the  same  ways  in  receiving  the 
Lord’s  Supper.  In  partaking  of  this  sacred 
memorial  feast  we  need  to  be  sure  only  that 
we  are  truly  in  living  union  with  Christ,  that 
we  are  trusting  him  alone  as  our  Saviour  and 
following  him  faithfully  as  our  Lord,  and  that 
we  come  to  his  table  with  a  sincere  desire  to 
meet  him  and  to  seek  blessing  from  him. 

The  young  Christian  should  never  stay 
away  from  the  Lord’s  Supper  when  it  is 
celebrated  in  the  church  of  which  he  is  a 
member.  If  he  is  conscious  of  sin  and 
failure,  let  him  make  humble  confession  and 
start  anew.  The  Lord’s  Supper  will  help 
him  to  do  this.  We  cannot  afford  to  miss 
this  ordinance.  The  weaker  we  are,  and  the 
more  unworthy,  the  more  do  we  need  it. 

86 


The  Church  and  its  Services. 


Besides,  it  is  in  a  peculiar  sense  a  Christ- 
confessing  ordinance :  we  take  our  place  at 
his  table,  and  thus  witness  to  the  world  that 
we  are  his.  His  honor  therefore  demands 
that  we  should  never  absent  ourselves  when 
his  people  thus  confess  him. 

There  are  other  church  services  which 
have  their  large  possibilities  of  help  for  young 
Christians.  Among  these  are  weekly  meet¬ 
ings  for  prayer.  From  Sabbath  to  Sabbath 
is  a  long  stretch  when  the  way  is  hard,  when 
distractions  are  many,  and  when  the  battles 
are  sore.  The  prayer  meeting  is  a  little  oasis, 
midway.  It  is  a  place  specially  for  the  re¬ 
freshment  of  Christians.  Every  young  disciple 
should  put  it  down  among  his  positive  weekly 
engagements.  We  cannot  afford  to  miss  it 
if  we  are  at  all  earnest  in  our  desire  to  be 
strong  and  noble  Christians. 

The  Sabbath-school  is  another  of  the 
church  services  which  no  young  Christian 
should  miss.  It  is  not  for  children  only  :  it 
ought  to  be  a  Bible  school  for  the  whole 
church,  with  its  classes  of  young  men  and 
young  women,  and  of  old  people  with  dim 
eyes  and  gray  heads.  It  is  on  God’s  word 
that  we  all  need  to  feed  more  and  more.  It 
will  make  us  strong.  It  will  lead  us  in  right 
paths.  It  will  beautify  our  character.  It 
will  put  into  our  hand  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit  for  battle  with  temptation.  It  will  pre- 

87 


In  His  Steps. 


pare  a  pillow  for  our  head  in  sickness '  and 
sorrow.  It  will  at  the  last  guide  us  through 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death. 

In  most  churches  there  is  a  Christian 
Endeavor  or  other  young  people’s  society. 
This  is  really  a  training  school  for  young 
Christians.  They  have  an  opportunity  of 
learning  to  take  part  in  church  services. 
They  can  begin  here  in  a  very  humble  and 
easy  way  and  in  a  sympathetic  atmosphere, 
and  by  practice  can  overcome  their  natural 
timidity,  until  at  last  they  can  rise  and  speak 
with  freedom  in  any  meeting.  It  is  well  for 
many  young  Christians  to  unite  with  a  young 
people’s  society  for  the  sake  of  the  training 
they  will  receive,  not  only  in  the  prayer 
meetings,  but  also  in  the  work  of  the  society. 

We  need  the  church  services.  We  can¬ 
not  neglect  them  and  not  suffer  harm  and 
loss.  Whenever  the  church  bell  summons 
us  to  the  house  of  God,  we  should  gladly 
respond.  We  should  become  church-goers 
by  habit.  We  should  reverently  enter  the 
gates  of  the  sanctuary.  We  should  worship 
God  in  sincerity  and  in  truth.  We  should 
come  away  thoughtfully  and  with  prayer. 

Then  in  the  busy  days  which  follow  will 
come  the  proofs  of  the  helpfulness  and  bless¬ 
ing  that  our  lives  have  found  in  the  services. 
The  food  that  is  eaten  to-day  is  the  strength 
of  the  laborer,  the  eloquence  of  the  orator, 

88 


The  Church  and  its  Services. 


the  skill  of  the  artisan,  to-morrow.  The 
spring  sunshine  and  rain  that  fall  upon  the 
dry,  briery  rose  bush  reappear  in  due  time  in 
fragrant,  lovely  roses.  And  sincere  and  true 
worship  in  the  quiet  of  the  sanctuary  will 
show  itself  in  the  beautiful  character,  the 
sweetened  spirit,  the  brightened  hope,  the 
truer,  better  living  and  the  holier  consecra¬ 
tion  of  the  days  of  toil  and  struggle  that 
come  after. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Some  of  the  Duties. 

JT  is  a  high  attainment  to  be  a  good  church 
member.  One  must  first  be  a  good  Chris¬ 
tian.  Without  this,  church  membership  counts 
for  nothing  in  the  life  of  the  person.  We  must 
always  put  first  things  first.  We  must  join 
Christ  before  we  join  the  church.  Church 
membership  will  not  save  us. 

But  when  we  have  taken  Jesus  Christ  as 
our  Saviour  and  Lord,  and  have  consecrated 
our  life  to  him,  the  next  privilege  we  enjoy  is 
that  of  uniting  with  his  church.  This  in¬ 
volves  duties  which  the  young  Christian 
should  be  ready  to  perform  and  responsibil¬ 
ities  which  he  should  humbly  accept. 

One  of  these  is  a  continuous  and  consist¬ 
ent  confession  of  Christ.  We  speak  of 
uniting  with  the  church  as  confessing  Christ. 
It  is  a  sacred  moment  when  a  company  of 
young  people  stand  up  in  the  presence  of 
their  friends  and  make  their  first  public  con¬ 
fession  of  Christ.  Then  they  sit  down  at  the 
Lord’s  Table,  and  receive  their  first  Holy 


Some  of  the  Duties. 


Communion.  They  have  now  confessed 
Christ  before  men.  Their  act  is  very  beauti¬ 
ful.  The  Master,  looking  on  this  band  of 
young  Christians  in  these  moments  of  their 
solemn  commitment  of  themselves  to  him,  is 
pleased  with  their  consecration  and  with  their 
promise  to  be  his  and  to  follow  him  fully  and 
forever. 

This  is  a  confession  of  Christ,  but  it  is  not 
all  of  the  confession  ;  it  is  only  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  it.  Those  who  have  made  this  public 
avowal,  have  thus  set  themselves  apart  for 
God.  They  are  not  their  own.  They  have 
taken  a  new  master.  Their  confession  of 
.  Christ  henceforth  should  be  continuous.  “  If 
ye  abide  in  my  word,  then  are  ye  truly  my 
disciples,”  said  Jesus  to  beginners.  Indeed 
it  is  the  life  of  the  common  days  among  men 
that  tests  the  reality  and  sincerity  of  the  first 
confession.  It  is  easy  to  stand  up  in  the 
midst  of  a  company  of  Christians,  all  sympa¬ 
thetic  and  friendly,  and  say,  “  I  am  a  Chris¬ 
tian  ;  ”  it  is  not  so  easy,  however,  on  the 
play  ground,  in  the  office,  in  the  social 
gathering,  in  the  place  of  business,  in  the 
presence  of  those  who  are  unsympathetic 
and  unfriendly,  to  say,  “  I  am  a  follower  of 
Christ.”  Yet  this  is  what  is  expected  and 
required  of  those  who  have  declared  them¬ 
selves  Christians. 

The  daily  confession  need  not  be  made 


In  His  Steps. 


always  in  words,  but  it  is  to  be  made  in  the 
life.  Those  who  belong  to  Christ  must  walk 
worthy  of  their  Master.  Their  conduct, 
wherever  they  go,  must  be  such  as  will  please 
him  and  meet  with  his  approval.  They 
must  do  nothing  and  say  nothing  that  will 
bring  dishonor  on  the  name  they  bear. 
They  represent  Christ  in  the  world — “As  the 
Father  hath  sent  me,  even  so  send  I  you,” 
he  said  to  his  first  disciples. 

A  young  girl  when  received  into  the  church 
was  asked  what  it  would  be  for  her  to  be  a 
Christian.  She  replied,  “  I  suppose  it  will  be 
to  do  what  Jesus  would  do  and  behave  as 
Jesus  would  behave,  if  he  were  a  little  girl 
and  lived  at  our  house.”  No  better  answer 
could  have  been  given.  One  of  our  duties 
as  church  members  is  to  do  what  Jesus  would 
do  and  to  behave  as  he  would  behave  if  he 
were  precisely  in  our  place  and  our  circum¬ 
stances.  We  carry  in  our  life  not  only  the 
honor  of  the  church  but  the  honor  of  Christ, 
and  we  should  never  fail. 

There  are  important  and  specific  duties 
which  every  member  owes  to  his  church. 
Some  of  these  have  already  been  indicated 
in  another  chapter  of  this  book.  One  word, 
faithfulness,  will  cover  them  all.  We  often 
speak  of  persons  belonging  to  the  church. 
The  phrase  is  very  suggestive.  If  we  belong 
to  the  church,  we  owe  it  our  best  love,  our 


92 


Some  of  the  Duties. 


best  life,  our  best  service,  our  best  influence 
and  help. 

Nothing  but  the  will  of  God  should  keep 
us  away  from  the  meetings  of  the  church. 
Then,  being  present  at  the  services  is  not 
enough.  We  should  earnestly  and  heartily 
participate  in  these  services.  Very  chilling  is 
the  influence  of  those  worshipers  who  sit  in 
indifferent  silence  while  joyous  hymns  are 
being  sung,  who  keep  their  eyes  wide  open 
and  are  busy  gazing  over  the  house  during 
the  prayers,  who  pay  no  heed  to  Scripture 
lesson  or  sermon,  and  who  take  no  interest 
whatever  in  any  of  the  parts  of  worship. 
The  ideal  church  member  will  be  earnest 
and  fervent  in  his  devotions  and  deeply  in¬ 
terested  in  all  the  services.  Enthusiasm  is 
contagious,  and  the  influence  of  one  warm¬ 
hearted  worshiper  upon  others  in  a  congre¬ 
gation  is  very  great. 

The  social  life  of  a  church  is  important. 
There  are  churches  which  have  the  reputa¬ 
tion  of  being  cold,  unsocial,  unsympathetic. 
Strangers  come  and  go,  but  find  no  warmth, 
no  human  interest,  no  kindly  welcome.  No 
one  offers  them  a  friendly  hand.  Then  there 
are  churches  which  are  known  as  sociable, 
where  strangers  receive  hearty  greeting  and 
are  made  to  feel  at  home.  The  atmosphere 
of  the  meetings  is  full  of  cordiality  and  hos¬ 
pitality. 


93 


In  His  Steps. 


One  of  the  duties  of  church  membership, 
therefore,  is  to  exercise  the  spirit  of  love 
toward  all  fellow  members  and  toward  all 
who  enter  the  church.  Jesus  said  that  all 
men  should  know  his  disciples  by  their  love 
one  for  another.  This  was  wonderfully  true 
of  the  first  Christians,  after  the  day  of  Pente¬ 
cost.  They  had  all  things  in  common.  The 
rich  shared  with  the  poor.  The  strong  helped 
the  weak.  The  world  had  never  seen  such 
love  before — there  had  never  before  been 
such  love.  “  Behold  how  these  Christians 
love  one  another!”  heathen  men  said  in 
their  wonder. 

So  should  it  be  in  every  Christian  church. 
The  members  should  live  together  as  one 
family.  When  one  is  glad  all  should  rejoice. 
When  one  is  in  sorrow  all  should  be  touched 
with  the  feeling  of  grief.  They  should  bear 
one  another’s  burdens.  Such  a  church  is  a 
true  home  for  souls.  The  weary,  the  tempted, 
the  baffled,  the  defeated,  the  sorrowing,  the 
friendless,  turn  to  it  with  hunger  and  yearn¬ 
ing,  as  they  would  turn  to  Christ  himself  if 
he  were  here. 

Every  member  should  do  his  part  to  make 
his  church  such  a  Christly  refuge.  One 
brusque,  unsocial  person  may  greatly  hinder 
the  prevalence  of  the  spirit  of  love  and 
hospitality  in  a  church.  It  takes  the  hearty 
help  of  every  one  to  make  a  church  at  all 

94 


Some  of  the  Duties. 


points  and  to  all  who  come  within  its  doors, 
a  place  of  cordial,  hospitable  love. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  further  detail 
as  to  the  particular  duties  of  church  members. 
They  owe  their  church  generous  support,  and 
every  young  Christian  should  begin  at  once 
to  do  his  part  in  giving.  The  church  boards 
are  organized  for  the  purpose  of  receiving 
money  for  the  specific  objects  which  they 
represent  and  then  of  carrying  on  the  branch 
of  work  that  belongs  to  them.  Every  church 
member’s  privilege  is  to  help  these  various 
approved  causes  as  he  may  be  able  to  do,  as 
God  prospers  him. 

Every  well-organized  church  has  its  depart' 
ments,  with  its  societies,  bands  and  guilds,  its 
Sabbath  school,  its  young  people’s  meetings, 
its  work  among  the  poor.  No  one  need 
lack  the  opportunity  to  do  something — there 
is  a  place  for  every  grade  of  ministry  and 
every  kind  of  service.  Even  the  youngest 
member  can  find  something  to  do  and  a 
chance  to  be  trained  for  larger  work  in  years 
of  more  strength  and  experience. 

It  is  not  easy  to  be  a  good  church  member 
— it  is  not  easy  to  be  useful  and  helpful  any¬ 
where.  It  requires  the  denial,  the  oblitera¬ 
tion,  of  self.  If  we  are  in  the  church  to  be 
served,  to  receive  attention,  to  be  helped,  to 
get  promotion,  to  seek  office,  to  reap  benefit 
in  any  way  for  ourselves,  we  shall  fail  of  the 

95 


In  His  Steps. 


blessing  and  good  we  might  receive.  The 
true  spirit  seeks,  like  the  Master,  not  to  be 
ministered  unto  but  to  minister. 

This  means  that  we  must  be  ready  always 
to  give  up  our  own  convenience  in  order  to 
do  a  kindness  to  another,  to  deny  ourselves 
in  any  matter,  that  we  may  relieve  or  assist 
one  who  needs  our  help.  It  means  that  we 
must  have  patience  with  the  weak  and  the 
stumbling,  and  be  ready  always  to  help  a 
“  fainting  robin  back  unto  his  nest  again.” 
It  costs  to  be  such  a  church  member,  but  no 
price  is  too  great  to  pay  for  the  privilege  of 
filling  well  such  an  honored  place  in  the 
kingdom  of  our  Master. 

We  need  not  fear  about  reward.  Such 
love  always  yields  its  own  reward.  The 
reward  for  good  serving  is  more  serving, 
more  unselfish  serving.  We  need  not  hope 
for  ease  as  reward  for  sacrifice,  nor  for  a  time 
of  self-indulgence  after  our  time  of  self- 
denial.  But  the  opportunity  to  do  more  and 
greater  good  is  always  the  best  compensation 
for  any  good  we  may  have  done. 

True,  there  is  heaven  at  the  end — but 
neither  will  heaven  be  a  place  of  ease  and 
rest ;  it  too  will  be  a  place  of  service.  “  God 
will  give  each  of  us  a  star  for  a  workshop  by 
and  by,”  but  still  the  life  will  be  all  love,  and 
love  always  serves. 


96 


CHAPTER  XI. 


Growing  in  One’s  Place:  Providence. 

jY^ANY  people  imagine  that  they  could  live 
very  much  better  if  their  circumstances 
were  different.  In  their  failure  to  live  a 
noble  and  worthy  life  they  find  comfort  in 
laying  the  blame  on  some  infelicity  or  hard¬ 
ness  in  their  lot. 

This  is  very  foolish.  For  one  thing,  it 
does  no  good.  Blaming  circumstances  will 
not  change  them.  After  all,  they  are  our 
circumstances,  and  we  must  live  out  our  life 
in  the  midst  of  them.  Besides,  God  in  his 
providence  has  put  us  just  where  we  find  our¬ 
selves,  and  unless  we  claim  to  be  wiser  than 
God,  we  must  conclude  that  we  are  in  the 
right  place — at  least,  that  it  is  quite  possible 
for  us  to  live  a  true  Christian  life  where  we 
are. 

“  Thou  cam’st  not  to  thy  place  by  accident : 

It  is  the  very  place  God  meant  for  thee ; 

And  shouldst  thou  there  small  scope  for  action 
see, 

Do  not  for  this  give  room  to  discontent, 

Nor  let  the  time  thou  owest  to  God  be  spent 
In  idly  dreaming  how  thou  mightest  be.” 

7  97 


In  His  Steps. 


God  does  not  choose  for  us  the  place 
where  we  can  have  the  most  pleasant  time, 
with  the  least  friction  and  the  fewest  weights 
and  encumbrances.  Life  on  the  earth  is  a 
school,  and  he  puts  us  where  we  shall  receive 
the  best  training.  The  easier  place  might 
be  more  comfortable,  but  the  harder  place 
does  the  more  for  us — makes  the  more  out 
of  us. 

Some  people  think  that  if  they  could  get 
away  from  others  and  live  alone  they  would 
he  better  Christians.  Men  irritate  them, 
tempt  them,  stir  up  the  evil  that  is  in  them, 
excite  them.  But  men  do  not  grow  best  in 
solitude  and  apart  from  others.  The  good¬ 
ness  that  is  good  only  because  there  is  no 
friction,  no  provocation,  nothing  to  try  it,  is 
scarcely  worth  the  name.  Life  needs  life  to 
school  it  and  develop  it. 

The  old  monks  were  wrong  in  their  idea  of 
Christian  living  when  they  supposed  that  they 
could  reach  a  higher  state  of  holiness  by 
withdrawing  from  men  and  dwelling  alone. 
God’s  plan  is  to  set  the  solitary  in  families 
rather  than  to  separate  families  into  solitari¬ 
ness.  We  all  need  to  be  sometimes  alone. 
There  should  be  hours  when  we  enter  into 
our  closet  and  shut  the  door,  that  we  may 
look  in  upon  our  own  heart  and  hold  com¬ 
munion  with  God  ;  but  the  closet  is  not  to  be 
our  abiding  place. 


98 


Growing  in  One’s  Place. 


"  Hark,  hark  !  a  voice  amid  the  quiet  intense  ! 

It  is  thy  duty  waiting  thee  without. 

Rise  from  thy  knees  in  hope,  the  half  of  doubt; 
A  hand  doth  pull  thee  :  it  is  Providence  : 

Open  thy  door  straightway  and  get  thee  hence ; 

Go  forth  into  the  tumult  and  the  shout ; 

Work,  love,  with  workers,  lovers,  all  about. 

Of  noise  alone  is  born  the  inward  sense 
Of  silence,  and  from  action  springs  alone 
The  inward  knowledge  of  true  love  and  faith.” 

We  owe  duties  to  others.  To  live  only  for 
one’s  self,  though  the  aspiration  be  purely  for 
holiness,  is  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  true  dis- 
cipleship.  Our  duties  to  others  are  as  mani¬ 
fold  and  as  diversified  as  the  varying  phases 
and  conditions  of  life’s  reciprocal  relations. 
We  are  debtors  to  all  men,  far  and  near. 
God  wants  us  on  the  earth  to  fulfill  these 
duties.  We  are  to  serve  him  not  by  pure 
devotion  apart  from  men,  but  in  relations. 
Those  who  leave  society  and  flee  to  the 
cloister  simply  run  away  from  their  chief 
mission.  We  are  not  left  in  this  world  after 
conversion  merely  to  pray  and  praise ;  God 
wants  us  to  be  useful,  to  do  his  work,  to  run 
his  errands,  to  help  his  needy,  suffering  ones, 
to  train  children  for  his  service,  to  fight  his 
battles. 

“  What  are  we  set  on  earth  for?  Say  to  toil, 

Nor  seek  to  leave  thy  tending  of  the  vines 
For  all  the  heat  o’  the  day  till  it  declines, 

And  death’s  mild  curfew  shall  from  work  assoil. 
God  did  anoint  thee  with  his  odorous  oil 
To  wrestle,  not  to  reign.  .  .  . 

99 


In  His  Steps. 


So  others  shall 

Take  patience,  labor,  to  their  heart  and  hand 

From  thy  hand  and  thy  heart  and  thy  brave 
cheer, 

And  God’s  grace  fructify  through  thee  to  all. 

The  least  flower  with  a  brimming  cup  may  stand 

And  share  its  dewdrop  with  another  near.” 

Nor  is  it  alone  for  the  sake  of  others  that 
God  has  appointed  us  to  live  out  our  life 
among  men  rather  than  apart  and  alone  ;  it 
is  for  our  own  sake  as  well.  We  grow  best 
amid  other  lives.  People  are  means  of 
grace  to  us.  It  may  seem  to  us  that  if  we 
could  get  away  from  society  we  should  escape 
many  temptations  and  be  able  to  live  nearer 
to  God.  But  we  would  then  miss  the  blessing 
which  comes  from  struggle  and  victory. 
Heaven  and  its  honors  are  for  “him  that 
overcometh.”  Not  to  enter  the  struggle  is 
to  fail  of  the  white  robe  and  palm  of  the 
victor.  The  best  things  in  life  are  not  found 
along  flowery  walks,  but  in  the  fields  of  con¬ 
flict.  There  are  qualities  in  us  that  can  be 
developed  only  in  struggle.  To  find  easy 
places  away  from  the  strife  of  battle  is  to  lose 
the  discipline  that  makes  grand  character. 

We  grow  best  under  the  pressure  of  duty, 
where  we  are  compelled  to  think  of  others 
and  serve  them.  There  are  those  who 
imagine  that  if  they  could  get  away  from 
men  and  from  absorbing  contacts  with  other 
lives  they  could  live  better.  They  could  then 


IOO 


Growing  in  One’s  Place. 

enjoy  unbroken  communion  with  God.  But 
this  is  not  the  divine  ordinance  for  a  human 
life.  Love  to  God  does  not  stand  alone  as 
life’s  single  duty ;  love  to  man  is  always 
joined  with  it,  and  the  two  duties  are  so  inter¬ 
twined  that  neither  can  be  performed  without 
the  other.  We  cannot  love  God  and  not  love 
our  fellowmen ;  .we  cannot  serve  God  and 
not  serve  our  brother. 

Sometimes  we  imagine  that  if  we  could  get 
away  from  business  cares,  household  burdens, 
and  social  obligations,  we  could  be  better 
Christians.  It  seems  to  us  that  these  duties 
are  not  favorable  to  spiritual  culture,  and  that 
we  could  be  holier  and  could  live  more  as 
Christ  lived  if  we  were  freed  from  their 
exacting  and  absorbing  claims.  But  this  is  a 
mistake.  It  is  in  the  doing  of  these  common 
duties  that  our  powers  are  best  developed. 
God  puts  the  new  life  into  our  heart,  but  we 
must  work  it  out  into  strength  and  beauty, 
and  there  is  no  way  to  do  this  but  by  exercise. 
If  we  would  develop  the  love  of  our  heart, 
we  must  love  people ;  the  sentiment  must 
take  practical  form  ;  the  seed  germ  must  be 
cultivated ;  and  for  this  no  mere  cloister 
culture  will  do.  If  we  would  learn  patience, 
there  is  no  school  but  in  experiences  that 
require  us  to  exercise  patience. 

Jesus  said  that  rank  among  his  disciples  is 
won  by  serving,  that  he  who  serves  most  is 


IOI 


In  His  Steps. 

chief :  we  can  gain  this  spiritual  eminence 
only  by  filling  our  place  in  the  midst  of 
human  needs  and  sufferings,  where  contin¬ 
ually  the  pressure  is  upon  us,  calling  for 
service.  The  serving  must  be  real  serving 
of  actual  living  people;  no  fine  sentiment 
alone  will  exalt  us.  Good  feelings  and  dis¬ 
positions,  of  whatever  kind,  can  become 
part  of  the  fiber  of  life  only  when  they  are 
wrought  out  in  experience.  Spiritual  graces 
cannot  be  cultivated  in  the  abstract.  Char¬ 
acter  is  more  than  sentiment :  it  is  sentiment 
incarnated,  grown  into  life  and  reality. 

Instead  therefore  of  being  hindrances  to 
the  development  of  our  Christian  life  and 
character,  our  relative  duties  are  in  the  largest 
measure  helpful.  To  tear  ourselves  out  of 
our  place  among  men  in  order  to  get  rid  of 
these  duties  would  be  to  leave  whole  fields 
of  our  nature  uncultivated  and  many  of  the 
richest  possibilities  of  our  regenerated  life 
undeveloped.  The  common  duties  that  the 
daily  round  brings  to  our  hand,  although 
they  may  seem  to  be  far  from  spiritual  in 
their  influence,  and  may  seem  to  draw  us  off 
from  communion  with  God  by  keeping  us 
absorbed  in  and  occupied  with  earthly  tasks, 
are  to  us  really  not  hindrances,  but  rich 
means  of  grace.  We  grow  best  Godward 
when  we  are  serving  best  manward,  in 
Christ’s  name  and  for  his  sake. 


102 


Growing  in  One’s  Place. 


Therefore,  in  the  cultivation  of  the  Chris 
tian  life,  we  can  do  nothing  better  than  attend 
with  fidelity  and  diligence  to  the  duties  that 
belong  to  us  in  our  varied  relations.  The 
head  of  a  family  should  take  up  promptly,  as 
the  first  biddings  of  his  new  Master,  his  duties 
as  a  husband  and  father,  performing  them 
with  new  faithfulness  and  tenderness  and  with 
the  new  motive  in  his  heart  of  love  to  Christ. 
On  becoming  a  Christian  a  child  in  the  home 
should  accept  as  the  “Father’s  business” 
for  him  at  present  his  duties  of  obedience 
and  honor  to  his  earthly  father  and  mother. 
The  will  of  God  for  brothers  and  sisters 
beginning  to  follow  Christ  is  to  render  to 
each  other  all  the  sweet  and  helpful  ser¬ 
vice  of  patient,  unselfish  love  that  belongs 
to  their  sacred  relationship. 

We  are  called  to  walk  with  God,  but  not 
ordinarily  by  withdrawing  from  among  men. 
We  are  to  walk  with  God  in  the  place  to 
which  he  has  assigned  us.  We  are  called 
to  be  holy,  but  holiness  is  not  some  vague, 
nebulous  thing,  some  abstract  condition  of 
soul  attained  apart  from  common  practical 
life.  Holiness  is  obedience  to  duty,  and  no 
one  can  be  holy  and  neglect  the  service  to 
his  fellow  men  which  his  relationships  im¬ 
pose  upon  him. 


103 


CHAPTER  XII. 


Preparation  for  Trial. 


^RIAL  lies  somewhere  in  every  one’s  path. 

To  the  young  it  may  seem  far  off,  and 
even  thinking  of  it  may  be  unwelcome. 
“  Why  should  we  stain  the  blue  of  our  skies,” 
they  ask,  “with  anticipations  of  trouble  that 
may  not  come  for  years  ?”  We  are  specially 
commanded  by  our  Lord  himself  not  to  take 
anxious  thought  for  any  to-morrow.  The 
true  rule  of  a  life  of  trust  is  to  live  by  the 
day. 


“  Make  a  little  fence  of  trust 
Around  to-day ; 

Fill  the  space  with  loving  works, 

And  therein  stay ; 

Look  not  through  the  sheltering  bars 
Upon  to-morrow: 

God  will  help  thee  bear  what  comes, 

If  joy  or  sorrow.” 

Yet  there  is  a  sense  in  which  even  in  their 
happiest  days  the  young  should  anticipate 
trial.  The  man  whose  garners  have  been 
filled  from  this  year’s  golden  harvest  should 
not  be  anxious  about  next  year’s  bread,  but 

104 


Preparation  for  Trial. 


he  must  forecast  his  future  wants  by  sowing 
in  time  to  have  another  harvest.  We  need 
not  sadden  our  days  of  joy  by  anticipations 
of  coming  sorrow,  but  we  ought,  even  in  our 
sunniest  hours,  to  be  preparing  for  the  times 
of  gloom,  so  as  to  be  in  readiness  for  them 
when  they  come.  We  ought  in  our  plenty 
years  to  store  away  provision  to  feed  upon 
in  the  famine  years  that  will  follow.  We 
ought  in  the  glad  springtime,  amid  plenty, 
to  sow  the  seeds  whose  fruit  we  shall  need 
in  the  dreary  autumn.  In  the  pleasant 
summer  days,  when  we  have  no  need  for 
fuel,  we  ought  to  gather  the  wood  which  by 
and  by  we  shall  want  for  our  winter  fires. 

The  attendants  went  through  the  train  at 
midday  and  lighted  the  lamps  in  the  cars. 
It  seemed  a  strange  and  altogether  useless 
thing  to  do,  and  many  facetious  remarks 
regarding  it  were  made  by  the  passengers. 
But  soon  the  train  rushed  into  a  long,  dark 
tunnel,  and  then  the  lighting  of  the  lamps 
appeared  no  longer  either  a  strange  or  a 
useless  thing ;  nor  was  their  light  despised. 
It  may  seem  idle  and  unnecessary  now  to 
the  young  and  joyous  to  hang  up  lamps  of 
comfort  in  their  hearts,  while  the  sun  of 
earthly  blessing  shines  brightly  upon  them 
and  while  their  path  lies  amid  the  flowers  and 
through  smiling  valleys ;  but  there  are  dark 
places  farther  on,  unseen  as  yet — unsuspected 

105 


In  His  Steps. 


even — into  which  they  may  plunge  suddenly 
without  time  or  opportunity  to  find  the  lamps 
of  comfort  and  light  them,  and  in  which  they 
will  be  left  in  utter  darkness  if  they  have 
made  no  provision  in  advance.  But  if,  while 
they  moved  along  in  the  brightness,  they 
have  wisely  prepared  for  the  dark  passage, 
then  the  lamps  will  pour  their  grateful  light 
about  them  and  cheer  the  gloom. 

There  is  a  wide  difference  between  being 
anxious  about  coming  troubles  and  being 
prepared  beforehand  for  troubles  that  may 
come.  The  former  is  a  sin  ;  the  latter  is  a 
duty.  Those  only  can  truly  live  in  quiet 
peace,  without  anxiety,  who  have  already 
made  preparation  for  anything  that  may  come 
to  them.  No  one  can  find  real  pleasure  on 
the  sea  in  the  calmest  weather  who  is  not 
confident  that  the  ship  on  which  he  is  carried 
has  been  built  and  rigged  for  the  fiercest 
tempest  that  may  arise.  No  one  can  enjoy 
life  in  the  fullest  measure  who  is  not  prepared 
for  sudden  death.  And  no  one  can  get  the 
best  out  of  joy  and  gladness  who  has  not 
made  provision  for  sorrow. 

What  preparation  can  we  make  in  advance 
for  trial  ?  For  one  thing,  there  are  certain 
great  foundation  truths  which,  if  firmly  laid 
in  our  minds,  will  prove  abiding  sources  of 
comfort  in  any  trial  that  may  come.  One  is 
the  Christian  doctrine  of  providence.  There 

106 


Preparation  for  Trial. 

is  no  chance  in  this  universe;  there  are  no 
accidents.  God’s  government  extends  to 
“  all  his  creatures  and  all  their  actions.” 

“  Know  well,  my  soul,  God's  hand  controls 
Whate’er  thou  fearest ; 

Round  him  in  calmest  music  rolls 
Whate’er  thou  hearest. 

What  to  thee  is  shadow  to  him  is  day, 

And  the  end  heknoweth, 

And  not  on  a  blind  and  aimless  way 
The  spirit  goeth.” 

So  personal  and  minute  is  God’s  care  that 
amid  all  the  vast  and  complicated  affairs  of 
the  universe  not  one  of  us  is  overlooked  or 
forgotten,  nor  are  the  smallest  interests  of 
the  least  and  humblest  of  us  allowed  to 
suffer. 

The  firm  fixing  in  our  minds  of  this  great 
truth  prepares  us  to  receive  without  doubt  or 
alarm  whatever  God  may  send,  and  sweetly 
and  trustfully  to  submit  to  his  will. 

Preparation  may  also  be  made  in  times  of 
joy  and  gladness  for  the  days  of  trial,  by  fill¬ 
ing  our  hearts  with  the  truths  of  the  Scrip¬ 
tures.  The  wise  virgins  were  not  left  in 
darkness  when  their  lamps  had  burned  out, 
because  they  had  a  reserve  of  oil  in  their 
vessels.  If  we  have  a  store  of  divine  prom¬ 
ises  and  consolations  hidden  in  our  heart 
during  the  sunny  days,  we  shall  never  be  left 
in  darkness,  however  suddenly  the  shadow 

IC-7 


In  His  Steps. 


may  fall  upon  us.  Words  of  Scripture  in 
which  we  have  never  before  seen  any  special 
comfort  will  then  shine  out  with  bright  luster, 
like  stars  when  the  sun  has  gone  down,  pour¬ 
ing  heavenly  light  into  our  souls.  God  will 
then  speak  to  us  in  his  own  words,  and  we 
shall  hear  his  voice  of  love  and  be  cheered 
and  strengthened  by  the  assurances  he  gives. 
We  shall  find  among  the  treasured  comforts 
the  very  help  we  need — a  staff  to  support  us 
in  the  rough  path,  a  lamp  to  lighten  the 'bit 
of  dark  road,  an  arm  to  lean  upon  if  we  are 
weak  and  faint,  a  hand  to  guide  if  we  do  not 
know  where  to  go,  a  word  of  hope  if  we  are 
cast  down,  a  bosom  to  rest  upon  if  we  are 
weary  and  crushed,  a  balm  of  healing  if  our 
hearts  are  wounded  or  broken. 

There  is  consolation  in  the  Bible  for  every 
possible  experience  of  sorrow ;  and  if  we  but 
have  the  divine  words  laid  up  in  our  heart, 
we  shall  find  them  as  we  need  them,  and 
they  will  sweeten  our  Marahs  for  us.  They 
will  come  to  our  aid  at  the  right  moment, 
and  will  prove  God’s  very  angels  to  us  with 
their  light  and  their  help. 

“  When  the  sun  withdraws  his  light, 

Lo  !  the  stars  of  God  are  there; 

Present  hosts  unseen  till  night — 

Matchless,  countless,  silent,  fair.” 

The  same  is  true  of  preparation  for  meet- 

108 


Preparation  for  Trial. 


ing  temptation.  This  is  best  made  by  storing 
the  heart  with  the  commands  and  promises 
of  God’s  word,  which  may  be  brought  out  in 
the  hour  of  need  and  made  available  for 
defense.  When  our  Lord  was  tempted,  he 
made  use  of  the  words  of  divine  truth  in 
resisting  the  tempter.  If  we  would  meet  and 
overcome  temptations,  we  must  follow  the 
example  of  our  Master.  But  to  do  this  we 
must  have  the  Scripture  words  hidden  in  our 
heart,  ready  for  use  at  any  moment  of  need 
or  danger.  Our  Lord  did  not  open  his 
parchment  roll  at  that  moment,  find,  and  then 
read,  the  divine  sentences  which  drove  the 
tempter  away.  He  had  pondered  the  holy 
book  in  the  quiet  days  before  the  enemy 
tried  him,  and  had  its  words  stored  in  his 
heart,  ready  for  instant  use  when  the  hour 
of  need  came. 

In  Holman  Hunt’s  great  picture  “  The 
Shadow  of  Death,”  which  represents  Jesus  as 
a  young  man  in  the  carpenter’s  shop  stretch¬ 
ing  himself  at  the  close  of  a  weary  day,  and 
with  his  outspread  arms  making  the  shadow 
of  a  cross  on  the  wall,  there  is  a  minor  feature 
that  is  full  of  suggestion.  On  a  shelf  is  a 
collection  of  books  in  the  form  of  rolls,  such 
as  were  in  use  in  those  days.  They  represent 
the  library  Jesus  used — the  books  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  They  are  there  in  the  shop  where 
he  worked,  suggesting  that  in  his  leisure 

109 


In  His  Steps. 


moments  he  turned  to  them  to  ponder  their 
great  truths  and  store  away  their  principles 
in  his  memory  and  in  his  heart.  No  doubt 
the  picture  truly  represents  the  daily  habit 
of  his  life  in  those  quiet  years  when  he  was 
preparing  for  his  great  public  work.  Thus  it 
was  that  when  the  tempter  came  there  was 
no  need  for  feverish  haste  in  preparing  for 
defense.  The  weapons  were  ready,  and  the 
victory  was  easy. 

From  this  example  of  Jesus  we  should 
learn  to  prepare  in  advance  for  temptation 
by  filling  our  hearts  in  the  days  of  youth  and 
early  life  with  the  truths  of  God’s  word.  The 
soldier  cannot  learn  the  art  of  war  when  the 
battle  is  upon  him ;  if  he  is  not  already 
trained  he  can  only  suffer  defeat.  When  the 
tempter  has  come,  there  will  be  no  time  to 
search  out  texts  with  which  to  ward  off  his 
blows ;  but  if  we  have  the  sacred  words 
treasured  in  our  heart,  it  will  be  easy  to 
draw  them  forth,  as  arrows  from  a  quiver, 
for  use  at  any  moment  of  danger. 

Another  preparation  for  trial  is  a  close  walk 
with  God.  Nothing  adds  more  to  the  bitter¬ 
ness  of  any  grief  than  the  memory  of  a 
careless  or  a  sinful  life ;  while  nothing  allevi¬ 
ates  the  pain  of  affliction  so  much  as  the 
remembrance  of  faithfulness  in  duty  and  the 
consciousness  of  divine  approval.  If  our 
habitual  daily  life  has  been  near  to  God,  we 


no 


Preparation  for  Trial. 


have  no  trouble  in  finding  God  when  in  some 
sore  stress  we  greatly  need  him ;  but  if  we 
have  been  living  far  from  God  in  the  bright 
days,  neglecting  our  devotions  and  our  duties, 
it  takes  a  long  time,  when  trial  comes,  to  get 
into  such  close  fellowship  with  God  that  we 
can  receive  the  tender  personal  comforts 
which  he  imparts  to  those  who  in  intimate 
friendship  lean  upon  his  breast. 

Our  habitual  treatment  of  our  friends  in 
the  season  of  unbroken  fellowship  has  very 
much  to  do  with  the  comfort  we  shall  get 
when  we  are  called  to  mourn  the  loss  of 
these  friends.  If  we  have  been  unkind, 
selfish,  thoughtless,  or  harsh ;  if  we  have 
failed  in  any  duty  to  them  ;  if  we  have  caused 
them  pain  or  trouble ;  if  we  have  wronged 
or  injured  them  in  any  way, — no  fullness  and 
richness  of  divine  comfort  will  altogether 
take  away  the  pang  from  our  heart  when  we 
stand  by  the  cold  clay  and  it  is  too  late  to 
ask  or  to  receive  forgiveness.  But  if  we 
have  been  faithful  and  true  to  our  friends  in 
all  ways ;  if  we  have  been  thoughtful  and 
kind ;  if  we  have  let  our  love  flow  out  in  fond 
expression  and  unselfish  ministry, — when 
they  leave  us  our  sorrow  at  the  loss  may  be 
no  less  sore,  but  it  will  have  no  bitterness  in 
it.  Loyal  and  tender  friendship  is  a  prepara¬ 
tion  for  sorrow ;  its  memory  is  a  sweetener 
of  bereavement. 


hi 


In  His  Steps. 

To  all  of  us  sorrow  will  come  in  some  form 
or  other.  But  we  may  so  lay  up  in  store  the 
resources  of  comfort  that  in  whatever  way  it 
may  come,  in  whatever  measure  or  however 
suddenly,  we  shall  not  be  crushed  by  it,  but 
shall  welcome  it  as  God’s  angel  and  receive 
the  message  our  Father  sends  to  us  in  it  and 
the  benediction  it  brings  to  us  from  heaven. 

“  Count  each  affliction,  whether  light  or  grave, 
God’s  messenger  sent  down  to  thee. 

Do  thou 

With  courtesy  receive  him  ;  rise  and  bow, 

And  ere  his  shadow  cross  thy  threshold,  crave 
Permission  first  his  heavenly  feet  to  lave.” 

In  God’s  plan  for  each  life  one  step  is 
always  designed  to  prepare  for  the  next. 
One  day’s  faithfulness  lifts  up  to  the  next 
day’s  duty  and  fits  for  the  next  day’s  trial. 
Faithfulness — simple  faithfulness — each  hour, 
each  moment,  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  pre¬ 
pare  for  any  future.  Then,  at  the  end,  such 
a  life  will  stand  approved  and  complete, 
ready  for  the  crowning,  at  the  feet  of  Him 
who  is  Redeemer,  Lord,  Pattern,  Helper,  and 
Friend. 


113 


